Image via Upland Police Department/Facebook
A white Chrysler 300 crashed into a light pole in Riverside, California, abandoned with personal items inside: that’s all the evidence police have for the disappearance of 34-year-old William Orellana. The father of three vanished without a trace on July 21, leaving his family and friends worried and puzzled.
Missing motorcyclist found in a ditch days later.
Police were first alerted to something being wrong when another driver crashed into Orellana’s abandoned Chrysler. Why the car was just left and with personal items isn’t entirely clear.
Kacey Silvas, who has been dating Orellana for the past four years and has a child with him, told local station ABC7 on July 21 she missed a call from him at 3:52 am. When she tried calling him back and he didn’t answer she grew concerned.
After the other driver hit the Chrysler, police only found Orellana’s security uniform and phone inside, but not his wallet. No report we found mentioned anything about credit or debit card activity, something police can easily monitor.
Any number of things could have happened to Orellana. He might have suffered a medical episode or hit his head in the crash with the pole, suffering memory loss. It’s possible someone set up a trap, causing him to hit the pole then kidnapping him, making sure his phone was left behind so his whereabouts couldn’t be traced.
Other possible explanations abound, but with the trail growing cold, it appears the police investigation has hit a doldrum. There’s no evidence of foul play nor any indication Orellana purposely wanted to disappear.
In modern cars and even with certain cellphones and smart watches there are settings to make an emergency phone call when a crash has been detected. Perhaps such a thing would have prevented this whole mystery from unfolding, but we may never know.
Anyone with information about William Orellana is encouraged to call Upland Police Department at (909) 946-7624.
Image via Upland Police Department/Facebook
