Longtime KGO 810 radio host Ray Taliaferro reported missing

Many questions still surround the disappearance of longtime former KGO-810 radio broadcaster Ray Taliaferro, who was last seen Nov. 10 in Paducah, Kentucky, after likely driving away while his wife was checking out a back house window.

Authorities don't have new leads and are hoping media attention will help locate Taliaferro.

Taliaferro, 79, maintains a residence in San Francisco, but he and his wife of six months 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.

Massac County Sheriff Ted Holder told this news organization Monday that Taliaferro was reported missing on the morning of Nov. 10 by his wife, and an alert to be on the lookout for the car he may have been driving was sent out to nearby agencies.

Taliaferro's wife asked the sheriff's office that day to issue a “Silver Alert,” a much wider notification system similar to an Amber Alert, used when people with Alzheimer's or dementia are missing.

However, Holder said Taliaferro's wife only described him to authorities as someone who is forgetful at times, not someone with a diagnosed memory disorder, so only the alert on the car was issued.

Taliaferro was seen on foot later that afternoon in Paducah, just a short drive away across the Ohio River, Holder said.

Taliaferro spoke with employees of Independence Bank, the manager of the Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant, and finally, the music director of the West End Baptist Church, all within a few blocks of each other in Paducah, Holder confirmed.

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 he 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.

Brian Henry, the church's music director, said Taliaferro knocked on the church's door Nov. 10, and declined coffee, but wanted to chat, telling Henry all about his life, including his career as a broadcaster.

Henry spoke with him for about 25 minutes, he said Monday, but he was concerned about Taliaferro's mental state, as he seemed forgetful.

“He asked my name several times and introduced himself several times,” Henry said. “Maybe he was suffering from some sort of mental lapse.”

Henry contacted Taliferro's son, Raphael Taliaferro Jr., via Facebook, to let him know about the conversation.

Henry said he found out the next week, on Nov. 18, that Taliaferro was indeed reported missing, when Holder called him.

Henry said he told Holder he had surveillance video of him speaking with Taliaferro in the church entryway. Holder told him if they needed any more information, Paducah police would contact him.

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

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.

Sgt. William Hodges with the Paducah City Police Department told this news organization he couldn't comment on details of the investigation, as the Massac County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency.

Holder said this case is being treated like any other missing person's report, and his office is working with Paducah authorities as well as Illinois State Police.

“Everybody's working together on this,” he said.

“We just don't want anything to happen here where something falls through the cracks.”

Holder said he believes that Taliaferro is likely staying with someone who hasn't yet heard he is reported missing, so more media attention might help the investigation, he said.

“I still believe he's alive, I still believe he's in the area,” he said.

Holder said Taliaferro had some cash on him at the time he went missing, so he could be getting by on that money.

“If he's not here, if he's trying to make his way back, I think he's going to reach out to somebody that he knows,” Holder said.

Taliaferro became the nation's first black talk-show host for a major market radio station (KNEW AM 910) in 1976. According to Bay Area News Group archives, his long résumé also includes heading the city's chapter of the NAACP and being named the city's first black member of the arts commission.

For years, starting in 1986, the liberal Taliaferro commanded the Bay Area's overnight airwaves, hosting the KGO Newstalk AM-810 show from 1 to 5 a.m.

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

If you have any information about Taliaferro's whereabouts, contact the Massac County Sheriff's Department at 618-524-2912 or the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550.

Here are some things to know about Taliaferro and the search for him:

Former KGO colleague Brian Copeland tweeted that “Ray has been battling dementia for a while so he may not be certain where he is.”

Taliaferro told this news organization in 2011 that he grew up in San Francisco's Hunters Point neighborhood.

He had served as president of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Leukemia Society and the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP.

KGO colleague John Rothman told this newspaper that “millions of people spent the night with Ray Taliaferro Monday through Friday 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. You couldn't miss Ray Taliaferro. His wonderful commitment to human rights, his wonderful commitment to San Francisco and his wonderful commitment to people.”

Taliaferro's night-time talk show mostly featured discussions about political issues affecting California and the nation.

A progressive Democrat, Taliaferro became one of the most prominent left-wing talk show hosts in the country.

His shows sometimes featured poetry and music.

An accomplished musician, he conducted the Ray Tal Chorale and served as director of music for the Third Baptist Church.

Staff writer Linda Zavoral contributed to this report.