Almost four years after being reported missing, the remains of a Belmont man have been found. Paul Farmer, then 84 and with a known memory loss condition, left his home for an evening walk in August 2019 and never returned.
Various agencies searched across Belmont and San Mateo County without success. Over the course of three years, multiple searches were conducted, and dozens of leads were investigated, according to police.
The discovery of Farmer’s identification card in a waterway in lower San Mateo in 2023 prompted Belmont Police investigators to search an area south of Highway 92 near Hillsdale Boulevard. On June 25, they discovered human remains in a dense brush on a hillside. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office subsequently confirmed that these remains belonged to Paul Farmer. The cause of his death remains undetermined.
This tragic outcome underscores the challenges faced by law enforcement and families when dealing with missing persons cases, particularly those involving individuals with memory loss conditions. It also sheds light on the importance of ongoing efforts, however long they may take, to bring closure to these cases.