Found Deceased KY - Raphael “Ray” Taliaferro, 79, radio journalist, Paducah, 10 Nov 2018

[cybervampira]

Missing radio journalist Ray Taliaferro last seen near Mellow Mushroom in Paducah

Your help is needed finding a missing 79-year-old Massac County, Illinois, man.

Deputies are looking for Raphael “Ray” Taliaferro. He was last seen near Mellow Mushroom in Paducah a week ago.

Taliaferro has had a long career as a successful radio journalist. He is in the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, and the organization’s Ray Taliaferro NABJ Entrepreneurial Spirit Award is named after him.

If you have any information, you are asked to call the Massac County Sheriff’s Department at 618-524-2912

 

[CluelessWonder]

Paducah is in Kentucky. He must have crossed over the river. Those rails are low, but it would be quite a fluke thing for a car to go over the railing without leaving any trace of what happened.

This one hits close to home for many reasons. I was once a member of the Society of Black Journalists. And I'm from Illinois. I have family in Paducah, too.

 

[cybervampira]

Missing man out of Massac County, IL, last seen in Paducah

[...]

He is described as 5′10″ tall, 180 pounds, light black skin, white/grey hair and a mustache. They are unsure what he was last seen wearing.

His wife says he has “forgetful spells”.

Taliaferro was inducted in the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2011.

 

[cybervampira]

Still missing.

Longtime KGO 810 radio host Ray Taliaferro reported missing – The Mercury News

According to a KFVS report, the Massac County Sheriff’s Department says Taliaferro — now a resident of that Illinois county — was last seen Nov. 10 in nearby Paducah, Kentucky.

According to the missing person flier, “Ray was last seen talking with the manager of the Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant in Paducah. He may be experiencing disorientation and signs of dementia.”

[...]

Onetime Talk Show Ray Taliaferro Reported Missing In Kentucky

 

[TeaTime]

Oh my! He is so adorable! Please find him safe!

 

[JerseyGirl]

still missing: Longtime San Francisco journalist Ray Taliaferro missing in Kentucky

 

[cybervampira]

Questions surrounding KGO 810 radio host Ray Taliaferro’s disappearance in Kentucky – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Many questions are surrounding the disappearance of longtime former KGO-810 radio broadcaster Ray Taliaferro, who remains missing after last being seen Nov. 10 in Paducah, Kentucky, after likely driving away from his wife in a car.

Authorities don’t have new leads, and are hoping media attention on the case will help locate Taliaferro.

Taliaferro, 79, maintains a residence in San Francisco, but his wife of six months and he were visiting a city called Brookport in southern Illinois on Nov. 10, checking out property she had inherited, according to a family spokesman.

Just before they were set to leave the home together, Taliaferro’s wife went to check on a window in the back of the house, and when she returned just a few minutes later, the car and Taliaferro were gone.

[...]

But since then, he has not been seen. The car he likely drove to Paducah was parked outside the bank he had visited when it was noticed by employees Nov. 14. The local Paducah City Police Department was notified about it on Nov. 16, Holder said.

Taliaferro’s cell phone was found inside the car, and Holder said much of his office’s efforts in the first week Taliaferro was missing were focused on trying to track any cell phone or credit card activity, of which there doesn’t appear to have been any.

[...]

“From what I was told, the officers in Paducah working that were trying to find every bit of video that they could,” Holder said when asked about video evidence in the case.

But Henry said neither Massac County authorities nor Paducah police have inquired about the church’s video clip, which has time stamps showing when Taliaferro was there that afternoon.

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

Video at link.

Search continues for San Francisco radio host who vanished in Paducah

[...]

Taliaferro is also known for his work in the community. He was the president of the San Francisco Arts Commission and the president of the area chapter of the Leukemia Society.

“His motivation was one of purely being a humanitarian — a man who knew people who’ve been affected [by leukemia] and a man who wanted to make a difference,” Rothmann told Local 6.

Rothmann said Taliaferro helped raise millions of dollars to fight cancer by doing an annual “Cure-a-thon.”

“He would come in and it was a 24-hour ‘Cure-a-thon.’ We raised at least a million dollars every year,” said Rothmann. “But the most wonderful thing was when I would turn to Ray and say, ‘Ray, it’s time for you to play.’ And he would go over to the piano and he would begin to play. He was a brilliant pianist and as soon as he started to play, the phone lines lit up with people making contributions.”

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

Ray Taliaferro Missing: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

Ray Taliaferro, an award-winning radio broadcaster, has been missing since November 10. Taliaferro is 79. Here is what you need to know about what happened to the popular and respected radio journalist.

 

[CluelessWonder]

On Saturdays, Independence Bank is open from 9 a.m.-noon and Mellow Mushroom opens at 10:30 a.m. He was at the church for approximately 30 minutes. I'd say he left the church somewhere around noon. At his age, I'd guess that he's moving at no more than 2 mph. If you assume that he stops moving at sunset, I'd say that he must have ended the day within 8-10 miles of the church. There is a railyard to the east. Is it possible that he jumped on a train? If so, he could be almost anywhere north to south. The idea that he's with someone seems really far-fetched. It's been 16 days. Isn't it fairly cold there? I wish I knew more about people with dementia so I could understand where he might have gone.

 

[CluelessWonder]

5 tips for tracking missing persons with dementia

This article says dementia patients are the most difficult to find. They quote an expert who says they tend to go until they get stuck. I was thinking about darkness. But the guy means actually stuck as in they can't keep going because of a wall, a fence, a river, etc. They do get attracted to water since it's an open, flat area. They sometimes mistake it for concrete, which is really scary. They also cling to the familiar. I believe Mellow Mushroom and the church might have seemed familiar. I wonder if they have searched the shore south of the river. I wonder if they have searched parks and wooded areas. Can they track his scent?

 

[fred&edna]

Video at link.

Search continues for San Francisco radio host who vanished in Paducah

[...]

Taliaferro is also known for his work in the community. He was the president of the San Francisco Arts Commission and the president of the area chapter of the Leukemia Society.

“His motivation was one of purely being a humanitarian — a man who knew people who’ve been affected [by leukemia] and a man who wanted to make a difference,” Rothmann told Local 6.

Rothmann said Taliaferro helped raise millions of dollars to fight cancer by doing an annual “Cure-a-thon.”

“He would come in and it was a 24-hour ‘Cure-a-thon.’ We raised at least a million dollars every year,” said Rothmann. “But the most wonderful thing was when I would turn to Ray and say, ‘Ray, it’s time for you to play.’ And he would go over to the piano and he would begin to play. He was a brilliant pianist and as soon as he started to play, the phone lines lit up with people making contributions.”

[...]

RSBM

Per link above... "He was a brilliant pianist...", and also within the article it states... “Not only did Ray talk about politics, which he did with great vigor, but he also did poetry nights. He did jazz nights.”

Is there a jazz club nearby? Or art-scene that possibly caught his eye? I'm trying to think of things of interest causing him to wander to a different area... but later found himself lost and very confused.

Despite warm weather for a few days last week, it is becoming much colder here. I sure hope he's found soon.

 

[doodles1211]

Did they try to make a point of mentioning his "wife of six months" for a reason?

 

[JerseyGirl]

Taliaferro and his wife of six months currently live in San Francisco, but were looking to move to southern Illinois.

“They had been at some property she inherited in the Unionville area,” police said. “His wife was out of the car looking at the house while Taliaferro stayed inside the vehicle. When she came back around the house, the car and her husband were gone.”

Almost a week later and across the river, Paducah Police found his car outside of Mellow Mushroom, but there was no Taliaferro.

The last person to see Taliaferro was inside West End Baptist Church on 28th Street in Paducah when Taliaferro walked inside and had a conversation with the church’s music director, there was surveillance footage of Taliaferro inside the church talking with him.

Taliaferro introduced himself multiple times and explained his story as a radio host.

“At that time, I got a phone call at the church and I said I have to take the call,” the music director said. “Mr. Taliaferro said it was very good talking to you and told me to have a good day and then he walked out the back door.”

Massac County deputies search for missing radio host

 

[JerseyGirl]

A surveillance video shows radio host Ray Taliaferro just before he disappeared in Paducah more than two weeks ago.

Taliaferro was the first black talk show host at a major market radio station in the U.S.

Missing radio host seen in Paducah church surveillance video

 

[tiffkinsadder]

Well this is sad.

 

[Tripod]

You've got to think Ray is around that general neighborhood/business district where he left his car, but he could have walked quite a ways, I suppose.
Bump for Ray!

 

[Lilibet]

Awwwwww....I remember Ray from KGO talk radio. My mom was a big fan and listened to him for years. She slept with her transistor radio tuned to KGO and he kept her company all night. He was a great guy. I hope he’s OK, but it doesn’t sound good.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Authorities still have no leads.

https://radioink.com/2018/11/28/video-shows-where-taliaferro-was-last-seen/



Taliaferro may be disoriented and have signs of dementia. He was last seen wearing a black turtleneck, black pants, and a black jacket.

Taliaferro is known for his talk show, the “Early Show” which ran from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. from 1977 until 2011. He was a liberal commentator and based topics of discussion around politics, pop culture, and current news events. He is known for being the first African American talk show host on a major radio station in the country. He was awarded the Black Chamber Life Award by the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce.

 

[Sapphires13]

Hi. I joined the forum to post here. I live in Paducah and work quite near where Ray was last seen, so I thought I could provide some insight.

The Independence Bank is across the street from Mellow Mushroom. The Mellow Mushroom itself is housed within a historic former Coca-Cola bottling plant. The building is gorgeous and Mellow Mushroom is just one of the businesses located there. Unfortunately the building has almost no parking, and so the bank across the street ended up designating half of its parking lot as “friendly neighborhood parking” for the use of the businesses inside the Coke building. The bank itself is also a very interesting building (in my opinion it looks more like a church than a bank). If Ray had any interest in historic buildings, that might have drawn him to the Coca-Cola factory and Mellow Mushroom. Or maybe he just wanted pizza, though I’ve heard no reports that he ate there.

He went from there to a local church. The most direct course between the Coke building and the church would have taken him down Broadway where he would have passed two other churches and a post office, as well as my place of business. But he could have also crossed through the adjacent neighborhood to reach the church he ended up at.

The local police and FBI have actually inquired with my employer about obtaining any outdoor security footage from that day (we are closed on the weekends) to see if they could spot him or track his movements. I am however not privy to said footage and I don’t know if they found anything.

It was cold on November 10th and it has been cold off and on since. We actually had our first snow on the 14th as well.

Also one poster said it was possible he could have driven off the bridge coming over the Ohio River. His car was found near where he was las seen. One article says he and his wife were in Brookport, which has a bridge that connects directly to Paducah. It is a narrow bridge with a metal grating rather than pavement. It’s bright blue and is actually pretty scary to go across (I know a lot of people who will drive 10 miles out of the way to the I-24 bridge just to avoid it). I don’t find it likely that he tried to return to the bridge on foot.

Ray was last seen in the “mid town” area of my city, which is nearly 3 miles south of downtown and the riverfront and four miles east of the “mall” area where all the hotels and chain businesses are.

I can’t really think of where he would have gone or why.

If anyone has any questions, I’ll be glad to try and answer them.