By Khalida Sarwari
Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man who suffers from mental illness and has not been seen or heard from since early July, a department spokesman said.
Michael DiVerde was last seen walking away from the El Dorado Center in Live Oak on July 8, sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Campos said.
His mother, Pam Campbell, reported DiVerde missing on Friday after he failed to call her on a 1-800 number she had set up for him to routinely check in with her.
DiVerde suffers from mental illness, Campos said.
“We consider him at risk,” he said.
Sheriff’s department search teams looked for DiVerde in the Pogonip park area in Santa Cruz today on a report that he had been spotted there as recently as Friday, Campos said.
“It’s a roll of the dice where he might be,” Campos said.
DiVerde is described as a white man in his early 30s, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and 185 pounds. He was last seen with a Fu Manchu mustache, Campos said.
He has been arrested before on charges of battery and resisting arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call either 911, sheriff’s office dispatch at (831) 471-1121 or the investigations unit at (831) 454-2311.