The journey of 32-year-old David Ristovski began with a departure from his home in Los Angeles, California, on March 7, 2011. His eastward travel along Interstate 10 would come to an unexpected halt two days later, on March 9, in a desolate, unincorporated area of Cochise County, Arizona, near the New Mexico border. It was on this day that his white 1996 GMC Safari ran out of gasoline near milepost 384.
A phone call was made to his fiancée, requesting money, which marked the last time anyone is known to have heard from him. At the time he went missing, he was described as a White male, standing between 5'9' and 5'11' and weighing between 185 and 200 pounds. He has brown hair, which he usually kept shaven, brown eyes, and a one-inch scar located above his right eye. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a white t-shirt, black sweatpants, and grey Converse sneakers.
Following his last contact, it appears David left his vehicle and continued his journey on foot. An intensive search was launched, and authorities were able to track his footprints for an astonishing sixteen miles, a trail that led them east into New Mexico. The tracks eventually disappeared at Steins Pass, not far from Lordsburg, in the vicinity of railroad tracks near milepost 3 on Interstate 10. A possible but unconfirmed sighting of David was reported on March 11 near a set of railroad tracks in the Lordsburg, New Mexico area. Further complicating the search, some of his personal belongings, including his cellular phone, wallet, and a water bottle, were discovered eight miles north of where his vehicle was abandoned.
David's disappearance is marked by vulnerability, as his family disclosed that he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia three years prior and was without his necessary medication. While his parents noted he had left home on several occasions before, these absences were typically brief, lasting no more than a couple of days. A naturalized American citizen, originally from Bosnia, David had established a life in the United States, earning a degree in business administration from California State University at Long Beach and working as a floor technician. He was also the father of an infant child at the time he vanished. The investigation into his disappearance is being handled by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the New Mexico State Police, but the case remains without resolution, leaving his family with unanswered questions.Last Seen: Mar 9, 2011
