Officers are asking for the community’s help searching for a 68-year-old man with diagnosed dementia who was last seen Saturday afternoon in Signal Hill.

The Signal Hill Police Department describes William Harville as a Black man who stands 5 feet and 8 inches tall, weighs about 162 pounds, and has gray hair and blue eyes.

He was reportedly last seen around 2 p.m. with a known associate leaving the Courtyard Care Center Assisted Living facility located at 1880 Dawson Ave.

The department says Harville was wearing a brown beanie, a blue long-sleeve shirt, brown sweatpants and sunglasses.

Officers did not immediately provide any details as to how Harville went missing, or if the known associate provided any further information.

Police ask anyone who may have seen Harville or have any information regarding his whereabouts to call the Signal Hill Police Department at 562-989-7200.

Another package has been reportedly intercepted in Los Angeles County, making it the third expensive laptop delivery to be stolen in Southern California this November.

This time, however, rather than swiping it in front of a consumer’s home – the thief went a few steps further.

“I ordered a laptop online and I did it for in-store pick up because I didn’t want it to get stolen,” the consumer, Rick Markowitz, told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw on Saturday. “And I said, ‘Hey, I’m here for my in-store pickup,’ and immediately they go, ‘Your laptop was already picked up sir,’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? I’ve never come to pick it up.’”

Markowitz now says he’s out $4K after the imposter picked up his computer from an Apple Store in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday.

While he was still at the store, Markowitz says he asked the staff if he was hacked.

“They said, ‘Well we don’t know if you were hacked or not, but we’re saying someone with an ID with your name on it came in and picked up the laptop.’”

Markowitz later filed a police report and then, deciding to do some research of his own, he went online to see if this incident had happened to anyone else recently.

In his searches, he found KTLA’s report from Nov. 28 about a thief who police believe posed as a consumer, showed an ID to the delivery person, and then walked off with someone else’s package – in two separate instances.

“And I’m like, wait, am I the third incident of someone who has a laptop intercepted and tracked specifically from Apple?” posed Markowitz. “And mine was in-store, which is crazy.”

Unlike the other two instances, security footage was not immediately made available for Markowitz’s case. However, the similarities between each of the three incidents raise concerns for residents, as well as experts.

“In essence, this is identity theft,” claims Randy Sutton, a retired police lieutenant and crime prevention specialist who believes these victims have been hacked.

“Making a fake ID is a walk in the park, especially when you’re dealing with people who are sophisticated,” says Sutton.

He says in these three cases, scammers likely hacked the victims’ cell phones, getting the tracking information and potentially making an ID.

Police did not immediately say whether this incident is believed to be connected to the other two Southern California cases.

To see if your phone has been hacked, Sutton advises consumers to visit malwarefox.com, a website that he says lists “all of the different methodologies used to compromise your information.”

And Markowitz, who thought he was doing everything right, is hoping to warn shoppers.

“Now as a result, I have to beg and kick and scream up the Apple ladder just to get them to give me a refund for the laptop that was never handed to me,” cautioned Markowitz.

Sutton says in these cases, the credit card companies commonly take the brunt of the fraud, and generally, consumers are usually reimbursed.

Shoppers across the country visited the large department stores for deals on Black Friday and will purchase more gifts online on Cyber Monday, but one special day sandwiched in between brings more of a local flavor to the holiday shopping season.

Small Business Saturday is a newer tradition designed to entice shoppers to spend some money at the places that aren’t on every street corner or are in every city.

One city making Small Business Saturday a priority is Long Beach. The city announced that, in support of its local entrepreneurs and business owners, it is making metered parking free in the following areas on Saturday:

• Downtown Long Beach: Street parking south of 10^th Street, including the Pike Outlets.
• Belmont Shore: Street parking and the five public parking lots.

“Long Beach is home to a vibrant and diverse small business community,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “By shopping local on Small Business Saturday and all holiday season long, residents can discover hidden gems, support local entrepreneurs and help create a thriving economy.”

Businesses in the area include Coffee Drunk, which offered shoppers discounts on Saturday morning, I Luv Ur Buns, which is offering a free Baognet for every $30 spent, Prism Botique and Adelita’s Revenge. KTLA’s Erin Myers was at all four locations on Saturday, sampling some of their tasty treats and talking to some of the owners.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the country and it’s really important that consumers realize that,” said I Love Ur Buns chef Sonya Suon. “You’re giving back to your community and we really do need that support.”