A missing person poster for Kenyan Reuben Waithaka, who went missing in Alabama on May 15, 2025.
Reuben Waithaka, a 73-year-old grandfather, had arrived in the US in May, visiting from Kenya. Then he disappeared.
A month later, his family is still holding onto hope that he will be found, even as the mystery surrounding his disappearance continues to grow.
On May 13, after eight years apart, Waithaka and his wife flew from Kenya to meet their son who lives in the US. He was last seen on CCTV leaving his son's house in the Timberline neighbourhood of Calera, Alabama, at 11am on May 15, two days after arriving in the US.
The 73-year-old man walked with a noticeable limp, favouring an injured knee, as he was accompanied by the family dogs. Moments later, the dogs returned alone, without him.
Kenyan Reuben Waithaka, who went missing in Alabama on May 15, 2025.
Alarmed, his wife stepped out to look for him, but did not find him. “I think someone must have picked him up because it happened so fast; less than three minutes. If he had walked off, I would have caught up with him,” she explained in a recent YouTube interview.
Surveillance footage captured the missing man walking past a petrol station before disappearing from sight. This video has become a key piece of evidence, pinpointing the narrow window in which Waithaka went missing.
Despite extensive searches involving K-9 units and aerial sweeps by both law enforcement and the Alabama community, no clues have surfaced. His sudden disappearance was especially troubling given that he was unfamiliar with the area and was carrying only Kenyan currency. Since then, the Calera Police Department and his family have launched an intensive search stretching across Shelby County and beyond.
Waithaka had travelled from Kenya to Alabama to celebrate his grandson’s graduation. His family was also looking forward to celebrating his 73rd birthday the following week. Wellington Barua, Waithaka’s son, had planned a party for him that weekend. “I haven’t seen my dad since 2017,” Barua told local news outlets. “We were planning a celebration just to have some good times together. It’s been really difficult.”
A missing person poster for Kenyan Reuben Waithaka, who went missing in Alabama on May 15, 2025.
Since Waithaka's disappearance, his family has distributed flyers around neighbourhoods, scoured social media and pursued every lead, no matter how small. “There have been sleepless nights,” admitted Barua. “But knowing he’s not lost in the woods anymore gives me hope.”
Meanwhile, the Calera Police have been pursuing leads across the region while juggling other active cases. “It's wearing us down,” said Police Chief David Hyche. “We’ve had two more missing persons cases since this started, and resources are tight. When I took this job five years ago, we had a fuller team than we do today.”
The family was scheduled to return to Kenya next week, but those plans are now on hold.
