Adano Michaud, 34, of Astoria, went out for his usual stroll on the Riverwalk last week, leaving behind his phone and wallet. The walk was part of his everyday routine, but he never returned home, and has not been heard from since.

 

Michaud, described by family members as a shy, sweet, reclusive individual with a mental illness and disability that makes him avoid approaching or connecting with others, has been a missing person since March 27. 

 

“He avoids people at all costs,” said Anne Moss, Michaud’s aunt. “So there’s no way we’re going to find him in a scenario where he’s joined something or met up with somebody. He’s just not that way. The only thing that Adano ever really does is he walks to Safeway to get food and he walks on the Riverwalk. That’s it.

 

“He did not take his wallet or his phone, his ID or anything. So usually, when he doesn’t take anything, his sole purpose is to do the walk … Being that everything was at home, we concluded he was probably going out for an afternoon walk. And then he just never came home.”

 

Michaud’s brother, who lives with him, called police after learning that he hadn’t returned to their home near Columbia Memorial Hospital. Michaud’s medical condition requires daily medication, meaning he is considered endangered due to his special needs.

 

An investigation into his disappearance is ongoing, and a number of flyers have been posted downtown alerting the community of the situation. Michaud’s brother asked local business owners to review security camera footage to see if there were any leads, but so far, they’ve found nothing.

 

His mother had concerns about the possibility of Michaud being picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but when she called the ICE office in Portland, she was rebuffed and told that they didn’t pick people up off the street.

 

Moss and her husband, who is a drone pilot, have been using drones to canvass the eastern portion of the Riverwalk, and are planning to explore the Cathedral Tree Trail up to the Astoria Column, the only other area Michaud has been known to walk.

 

“He’s 34; he’s 6- foot, 2, and he’s not a skinny man,” she said. “I can’t imagine someone trying to, you know, abscond with him or something. It’s just highly unlikely, especially being broad daylight in a busy town.”

 

Authorities have been trying to get in contact with Moss’ niece in hopes of finding a lead, but Moss said she found it unlikely that the niece would have picked up Michaud secretly, especially since the two had not seen each other in years. 

 

Moss worries that something could have happened to Michaud while he was walking the Cathedral Tree Trail, and he could be somewhere off the path; the trail is frequented enough that someone likely would have seen him on it by now.

 

She doesn’t believe Michaud is at risk of hurting himself. Moss called his mother a little while before he disappeared to inquire about his mindset and was told he seemed to be doing well.

 

Though hundreds of people are already aware of Michaud’s disappearance through posts on Nextdoor, police alerts and flyers, no credible sightings have been reported, leading Moss to believe that he won’t be easily found in Astoria.

 

Police are also seeking help from the public through a Facebook post.

 

“Even when we were doing the drone on the Riverwalk, we had people approaching us saying ‘Hey, you know, we’ve been keeping our eye out for him. We saw that poster,’” Moss said. “So people are looking. So he’s either not in Astoria, or not in a location that’s findable.

 

“I would tell the police, go through those woods (of the Cathedral Tree Trail), get a cadaver dog, you know. Maybe they can even get a volunteer to help with that. I’d be looking through those woods ASAP.”

 

Michaud’s mother emphasized that he is completely nonviolent and approachable. If he is spotted, she recommends calling the police and staying with him until they arrive.

 

“If they saw him, they need to call 911, because he has no method to pay for food or shelter himself,” Moss said. “So he would be in a very disoriented state of mind.

 

“It’s mind-boggling how it happened. I mean, this guy is as regimented as a person comes. He freaks out if anything is out of his order. And so for him even to walk a different path would be unheard of. For him to talk to anybody would be unheard of.”