This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
A former Harlem Globetrotter who went on a road trip from Alhambra to visit his longtime girlfriend in Seattle has been missing for more than a week.Rico Omarr Harris, 37, left his mother's home in Alhambra around 1 a.m. on Oct. 10, according to KTLA. He spoke to his mom, Margaret Fernandez, on the phone at 9:30 a.m. to give her an update on this travels; he said he was driving through Sacramento and would probably make a pit stop to get some food and take a nap.
However, that was the last time his mother heard from him. Three days later, a Yolo County Sheriff's Dept. deputy noticed an empty black Nissan sedan parked at the Yolo County Regional Parks Lower Site, about 60 miles northwest of Sacramento, according to a statement from the Yolo County Sheriff's Office. When the car was still there the next day, authorities checked the registration and found that the car belonged to Harris. Investigators told the family that Harris' car battery was dead, KTLA reported.
After authorities searched the area for Harris, they weren't able to find him, but did find his cell phone and a backpack with jumper cables nearby.
“We don’t want to think about the worst, so right now I’m keeping myself very optimistic,” Fernandez told CBS Los Angeles. “I’m not really letting my mind wander anywhere else. It’s an ongoing investigation, so I’m very hopeful.”
CBS reported that Harris suffers from a bipolar disorder.
His girlfriend, Jennifer Song, described Harris, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, to KTLA as a "loving … charismatic, gentle giant." Harris was in the process of moving to Seattle to live with Song and get a new job.
