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AIG VP Goes Mysteriously Missing During Business Trip
Omar and Diane Meza (Photo via the Find Omar Meza Facebook page)
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A Los Angeles man has gone missing while on a business trip in the Palm Desert. Omar Arce Meza, 33, works as a vice president for AIG Financial Distributors, the L.A. Times reports. He went to the Palm Desert on Thursday for business, but has since disappeared.
According to Meza's wife, Diane Meza, he called her around 11 p.m. on Thursday night to say he was going back to his hotel, The Courtyard Marriott. She said he told her he was going to go back to his hotel room and would then call her again to say goodnight. She said she fell asleep, and that he never called. Meza then failed to show up for any of his meetings on Friday. His wife and co-workers reported him missing before noon on Friday.
Mesa's coworkers say that they saw him leave a restaurant in Indian Wells on Thursday night in an Uber, KESQ reports. Security cameras show Meza walking alone into the lobby of the JW Marriott—1.5 miles from the Courtyard Marriott—and then it's not clear how he exits the hotel. He does, however, appear on another security camera near a parking lot after visiting the lobby. Later, police found Meza's wallet and jacket on the hotel's golf course. His last purchases on his credit card are from the JW. We called the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station to ask for more details, but a representative told LAist that the only accurate information they could provide was from their press release, which only states that Meza was last seen at the Marriott.
The Sheriff's Department has tried to locate Meza using bloodhounds, but has yet to find anything substantial. Crews are also searching the man-made lakes and bodies of water on the grounds, The Desert Sun reports. To put things in perspective, the JW is huge—the hotel's website says the hotel sits on 400 acres.
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Diane, who has been married to Meza for five years, said that Meza travels often for work, and that he's "highly responsible and reliable."
Police say they do not suspect foul play, and Diane can only think of one explanation. She told KESQ that in March of last year, Meza suffered memory loss and other damage in a car crash.
"That's my theory and what I'm holding onto [is] that he suffered additional trauma and doesn't know who he is," she said.
Officials have let hospitals, jails, shelters, transit hubs and officials at the U.S.-Mexico border know about the disappearance. There is also a Facebook page dedicated to finding Meza here.
Meza is 33 years old, 5'10 and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and gray pants, and might have some light stubble. Anyone with information should call the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Palm Desert Station at 760-836-1600.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of the story stated that Meza was staying at the JW Marriott. Later reports revealed his room was at the nearby Courtyard Marriott.
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