Lake View Terrace, California — A grieving Southern California family is demanding answers after their 83-year-old grandfather disappeared during a walk at Hansen Dam Recreation Area and was found dead in the nearby lake three days later.
Ramiro Herrera’s family says they were forced to organize their own increasingly desperate search after they believed authorities had not done enough to locate him. What began with roughly 15 relatives and friends on the first day eventually grew into a search involving nearly 100 people.
The family ultimately found Herrera themselves.
Grandpa Disappeared During Afternoon Walk
Herrera went missing on Sunday, Aug. 9, after deciding to take a walk around 1:30 p.m. at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area in Lake View Terrace.
When he had not returned by approximately 3 p.m., his wife, Rosa Ohm, became concerned. The family contacted the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and filed a missing person report.
LAPD officers and park rangers reportedly conducted an initial search of the area. However, Herrera’s stepdaughter, Gabby Conde, told the San Fernando Valley Sun that the official search lasted only about five minutes.
While authorities reportedly left the area, relatives and friends continued searching from the afternoon into the early morning hours.
Family Says Search Grew to Nearly 100 People
As concern over Herrera’s disappearance intensified, his loved ones took the search into their own hands.
The first day reportedly involved about 15 people, but the number grew dramatically as relatives, friends and volunteers joined the effort. By the third day, nearly 100 people were reportedly involved.
The family also created and distributed hundreds of missing-person flyers and shared Herrera’s information online.
Two people later contacted the family claiming they had seen someone resembling Herrera near the lake. Both reportedly said the person appeared to be injured.
Those reports appeared particularly significant because they resembled an earlier account involving a homeless man who allegedly encountered Herrera after the elderly man suffered a head injury.
According to the family, Herrera had apparently asked the man for help finding his wife.
Family Questions Police and Ranger Response
Conde said the family repeatedly asked authorities for additional assistance, including whether search dogs could be used.
According to her account, the family was told there were not enough financial resources to deploy a K-9 unit for the search. The family also questioned whether the lake had been adequately searched.
Conde said park rangers told them they had already searched the area and had not found anyone. Her mother, Ohm, described the experience as deeply frustrating.
“Within three hours of [arriving], the officers left us,” Ohm told the news outlet.
Conde said she even asked authorities whether they were leaving the family to handle the situation themselves.
Volunteer Eventually Found Herrera’s Body
Three days after Herrera disappeared, a volunteer searching with the family found his body in Hansen Dam Lake. The preliminary cause of death was reported as accidental drowning.
The discovery brought an end to the family’s frantic search but left them facing difficult questions about whether more could have been done during the first hours after Herrera went missing.
Conde said her family was particularly disappointed because they believed a faster or more comprehensive search could potentially have changed the outcome.
However, the circumstances remain under investigation, and there is currently no confirmed evidence that a different search response would have prevented Herrera’s death.
Family Remembers a Man Who Loved the Outdoors
As relatives prepare for Herrera’s funeral in Monterey Park, close to the couple’s East Los Angeles home, they are remembering him as a gentle and nature-loving man.
“He was such a sweet man,” Conde said. She described him as respectful and devoted to his home and family.
She also remembered how much Herrera loved being outdoors, making his death in the lake especially painful for those who knew him.
“I told my mom, it’s such [painful] irony that he passed away that way, in the outdoors, in nature, which he always loved so much.”
LAPD did issue missing-person and Silver alerts for Herrera, although the precise timeline surrounding those alerts has reportedly remained unclear.
Family Considers Investigation Into Search
Herrera’s family is now considering whether to request an investigation into whether LAPD officers and park rangers followed established search protocols during the effort to locate him.
They are also waiting for the full autopsy results, which could provide additional information about what happened before Herrera entered the water and clarify the circumstances surrounding his death.
For his loved ones, however, the questions surrounding the search may remain long after the funeral.
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