Disappearance of LA Man Raises More Questions than Answers

By Maggie Avants (Patch Staff)

WESTWOOD, CA — Authorities are still trying to determine how a car driven by a missing Los Angeles man turned up in Carlsbad, as he had no known connections to San Diego area, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department's Missing Persons Unit told Patch Thursday.

On Wednesday, Patch reported that according to NBC7 San Diego, tracking dogs had been brought into Carlsbad in the search for 56-year-old Ebrahim Pouldar, who was last seen by family members the morning of July 28 in the 10000 block of Wilkins Avenue of Los Angeles.

LAPD Missing Persons Detective Alma Mercado told Patch in a phone interview Thursday that the vehicle found in Carlsbad, a gray Honda Civic, did not actually belong to Pouldar. He borrowed it from a friend, she said.

July 30, two days after Pouldar was last seen by family members, is when Mercado said a Carlsbad police officer first saw the Honda Civic abandoned in a cul-de-sac near Buena Vista Lagoon — the border of Oceanside and Carlsbad.

Five days later, on Aug. 6, Pouldar's brother reported him missing and that is when the car and its license plate number were entered into the missing persons database.

"The vehicle was parked there for two weeks," Mercado said. "He [the Carlsbad police officer] recalled seeing it there July 30, and he ran the plates and it came back that it was related to a missing person and that the owner of the car had reported it lost."

That was Aug. 11.

On Aug. 25, Pouldar's keys, wallet and clothing were found about a mile from where the car was found, Mercado said.

LAPD detectives are still trying to determine why Pouldar would go to the San Diego area.

"He has no relatives there, no friends, no business there," Mercado said.

"His family and friends have not heard from him since being reported missing and they are gravely concerned for his welfare."

Pouldar's family did not know of any reason why he would go missing but did tell police he was a known gambler and drinker, she said.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were no new leads in the case, she said.

"It is an active investigation," Mercado said. "We don’t stop working it until the person is found; the case remains open; he is still in the missing persons database."

Pouldar is white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and has black and gray hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who has information about his whereabouts should contact LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800 or 877-527-3247.