$100,000 Reward Offer Fails to Produce Clues to Missing Man

A Seal Beach woman offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of her missing husband said the money hasn’t made a dent in the case.

Joseph Dimento, 61, has been missing since June 18, 1998, when he grabbed his driver’s license, $200 in cash and walked out of his Seal Beach home following a spat with his wife, officials said.

Police say they’ve tried everything, and the case remains unsolved. Uraiwan Dimento announced the $100,000 reward several weeks ago. To her surprise, it hasn’t helped.

“I needed people’s eyes to help me look for him,” Uraiwan Dimento said recently, explaining why she posted a reward. “I thought it would get attention.”

Seal Beach Det. Darrell Hardin, who has been working on the case for 17 months, suspects the retired IBM repairman may be eking out an existence under a different name.

“It’s easy to get false identification,” Hardin said.

Uraiwan Dimento said she and her husband were very much alike. Proud, they were also stubborn and prone to long periods of silence after a disagreement.

The couple were at the end of a camping trip at Joshua Tree National Park when Joseph Dimento wanted to take one last hike to a riverbed, she said.

Uraiwan Dimento said she refused, wanting instead to leave the 100-degree desert weather. The couple didn’t speak the rest of the drive, she said.

Joseph Dimento apparently changed clothes at home that day, pocketed his license and cash, and walked away, officials said. Several days went by, and Uraiwan Dimento said she attributed his absence to his sometimes moody ways.

She said she called police after finding her husband’s wallet, with credit and ATM cards inside, in the bushes in front of their house. The 60-year-old immigrant from Thailand said the only thing she can do now is hope that the reward yields information that will reunite her with her husband.

“We were very happy together,” she said.