Los Angeles man missing in Palm Desert; wife said he’s ‘highly responsible and reliable’

As Riverside County sheriff’s deputies search for a 33-year-old Los Angeles man last seen Thursday at a Coachella Valley hotel, the missing man’s wife is asking the public to help.

Omar Arce Meza arrived Thursday in Palm Desert on a business trip, but he was last seen around 11 p.m. at the JW Marriot Desert Springs Resort at the 74800 block of Country Club Drive, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

His wife, Diane Meza, told the Los Angeles Times that she spoke with him around 11:20 p.m. while he was at the Marriott. He was about to return to his hotel nearby and said he’d call her from his hotel room to say goodnight.

“But I never got that call, and I already fell asleep,” she said.

His credit card transactions stopped at the hotel. Security footage showed him exiting the hotel on foot, but cameras lost him near an on-site parking lot, she said.

Meza, a vice president for AIG Financial Distributors, didn’t show up for business meetings scheduled on Friday. His wife and colleagues tried to locate him, but couldn’t. By noon Friday, he was reported missing.

“It’s so out of character for him. He’s highly responsible and reliable,” Diane Meza said.

The couple have been married for five years and have no children. They met eight years ago when he bought furniture at a store she was working at. Days later, he sent her a note asking her out.

“I knew he was something special. It was clear that this guy was different,” she said.

Meza travels often for work -- with stops in Fresno and Las Vegas -- and visits Palm Desert about every other month.

The Sheriff’s Department has deployed bloodhounds and search-and-rescue crews to find Meza -- to no avail.

Meza’s family and friends have launched a Facebook group to post photos of Omar and share updates about the search effort.

His clients have joined the search, helping to pass out fliers.

Authorities have alerted law enforcement agencies, hospitals, jails, shelters and transit stations as far as the U.S.-Mexico border, Diane Meza said.

Meza was last seen wearing gray pants and a white shirt, and his wife guessed he may have light stubble.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Palm Desert station at (760) 836-1600.

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