Family searching for at-risk 51-year-old man missing in Southern California

Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk 51-year-old man missing out of Compton.  

Richard Gillett was last seen in the 800 block of South Center Avenue at around 1 p.m. on Jan. 1, authorities said in a missing persons bulletin.  

The 51-year-old is described as a Black male standing just under 5 feet tall, weighing around 100 pounds with brown eyes, curly gray hair and has missing front teeth.  

He was last seen wearing white pants, a white jacket with black markings, black shoes and a gold watch. 

“Mr. Gillett has a moderate intellectual disability and requires medication,” the bulletin noted. “His family is concerned for his wellbeing and asking for the public’s help.”  

Anyone with information on his whereabouts or who may have seen him is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.  

A “critically missing or at-risk person” is defined as: 

• A person who has no pattern of running away or disappearing 

• A person in critical need of medical attention 

• The victim of a crime or foul play 

• The victim of a kidnapping or parental abduction 

• A person who is mentally impaired to the extent that such person is unable to care for him or herself or is an immediate danger to his or her own safety or the safety of others