El Cajon

A longtime copy editor for the San Diego Tribune was reported missing by concerned co-workers after many attempts in San Diego and Tijuana failed to locate him, police said.

Abe Rillos Gutierrez, 53, who has worked for the Tribune since 1971 and told his employers in July that he was living in Tijuana hotels, has not been seen at the newspaper since Nov. 3, when he worked his normal shift, said police spokesman Bill Robinson. Gutierrez called in sick the evening before the next day’s shift, as well as Nov. 5, the day before he was scheduled to work again, Robinson said.

Tribune reporters unsuccessfully checked with hotels, hospitals, jails, morgues and police in Tijuana and San Diego before reporting Gutierrez missing Friday, Robinson said. His son and daughter in Phoenix also have been unable to locate him, he said.

This is not the first time Gutierrez has been missing, Robinson said. The copy editor disappeared for one day last July, he said.

Gutierrez is about 6 feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has curly, dark brown hair, Robinson said. He drives a tan, two-door car with California license plates.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call the San Diego Police Department’s missing persons office at 531-2277, or at 531-2000 in the evenings.