Police searching for Filipino man who disappeared a week ago outside of Bellingham Lowe’s
A 72-year-old man from the Philippines was last seen outside the Bellingham Lowe’s after a neighbor dropped him off on July 4, police and family members said.
Edgar B. Aberilla and his wife traveled from their home in the Philippines to visit their daughter, Abby Tullius, in Burlington, Washington, where they have been staying. Aberilla’s native language is Tagalog and he does not speak English.
Tullius said she and her parents attended a Fourth of July parade in Anacortes and then returned home. Without his family’s knowledge, Aberilla left his daughter’s home with a neighbor and was driven to the Bellingham Lowe’s at about 4 p.m.
Aberilla has dementia and sometimes needs help, said Tullius, who is a medical provider at the Skagit County Jail. He is not familiar with Burlington or Bellingham.
“That’s when I contacted the police and then the police also helped search. I think they sent like a drone to look at the slew behind our property and he was not there. And so the responding officer, Sgt. Campo, went door-to-door around the neighborhood,” she said.
Campo approached a neighbor who was pulling into his driveway who told him that he had just dropped Aberilla off at the Lowe’s in Bellingham, Tullius said.
Burlington detectives said the reason the neighbor dropped Aberilla off at Lowe’s was due to a misunderstanding because of the language barrier.
Burlington detectives who are investigating the case said they recently obtained footage of Aberilla being dropped off at Lowe’s. They received a couple of sightings in Bellingham but no positive leads. Detectives have been going to Bellingham to hand out fliers and look for video of Aberilla. They said they are relying on Bellingham Police for information.
Border Customs are also aware of Aberilla in case he is dropped off at the Canadian-United States border.
Tullius said her mother is still with her at her home and her parents were supposed to go back home to the Philippines on July 18 but Tuillius had to cancel their flights.
“If [Bellingham residents] are sure that they see my dad, I would love for them to just stay with him as they call 911. If they could do me a favor to just do that,” she said.
Aberilla is 5-foot-1, 140 pounds with short black hair. He wears glasses and was last seen with a blue T-shirt, khaki shorts, brown shoes and was carrying a brown bag.
Burlington Police is the primary investigating agency and if anyone sees Aberilla, they are asked to stay with him and call 911 immediately.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 10:19 AM.
