Man missing after rural Sonoma County vehicle crash

Authorities Saturday were still searching for a man reported missing after his crashed vehicle was found four days ago off Calistoga Road in rural eastern Sonoma County.

Jose Juan Ortiz-Villicana, 38, was supposed to meet his brother in Calistoga sometime Tuesday but never arrived, according to a family member’s report to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. Ortiz-Villicana had addresses in both Santa Rosa and Lake County, officials said.

His vehicle was abandoned after crashing into a fence Tuesday on Calistoga Road near Gates Road and his family told sheriff’s officials the crash was being investigated by the CHP as a hit-and-run, Sheriff’s Lt. Andrea Salas said. Ortiz-Villicana’s family reported him missing Thursday afternoon.

Sheriff’s personnel checked hospitals in Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties but found no sign of him. Deputies also visited residences where he lived in Santa Rosa and Lake County. Ortiz-Villicana’s cellphone was left in the crashed vehicle, Salas said.

On Friday, volunteers with Sonoma County sheriff’s search and rescue team spent more than four hours walking in a grid pattern in hilly, wooded terrain near the crash site looking for Ortiz-Villicana or evidence from the crash. They found no sign of him, the lieutenant said.

Ortiz-Villicana was described as a Latino man with a shaved head, brown eyes who may be injured. He’s about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.

Anyone with information about him can call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-565-2121.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.