The family of Toshiaki Takenaka, who went missing Tuesday April 21, appealed to the public to ask anyone who might see him to tell him to please come home.
“If people see him just let him know everything is okay. What we need is him to be back home,” said his father, also Toshiaki Takenaka. “Everything else is okay. He doesn’t need to think about anything else, any other problem he has. All is forgiven.”
The elder Takenaka spoke with Cambridge Day Saturday afternoon, soon after Cambridge police issued an updated missing person poster for the younger Takenaka, adding an image of how he was thought to have been dressed when he was last seen.
Asked how he was, Takenaka’s father said “I’m, I’m, I’m trying to keep it together because I can’t fall right now. I don’t have time for that right now.”
Cambridge police spokesman Sgt. Robert Reardon said that “we just want to confirm his well-being.” Reardon said area hospitals had been checked and no one matching the younger Takenaka’s description was found. Police are trying to get more video footage from the area where he was last seen, near his apartment building at 151 N. First Street.
The younger Takenaka may have been headed toward the Lechmere MBTA station, and police are working with the MBTA to get footage from its security cameras to see if they showed him getting on public transit or walking past the station.
Takenaka left behind his cell phone and other devices, as well as his wallet, passport and green card (Takenaka is Dominican with Lawful Permanent Resident status in the United States). Reardon said in such cases, which he called uncommon but not unheard of, it usually means the person does not want to be found, “and the reason behind that varies.”
Reardon said putting out a public appeal for information came in hopes of getting a new detail that might prove important. He said “this guy has a supportive and loving family and the outpouring of support from co-workers and friends and the community has been humbling. I hope he sees it.”
Police ask anyone with information that could help find the younger Takenaka to call 617-349-3300 or submit an anonymous tip through its website.
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