Tragic Ending For Missing Daly City Man With Dementia

NEWARK, CA — The last time anyone saw 82-year-old Senen Merritt of Daly City was last Thursday on a SamTrans bus, clad in a brown plaid sports coat, orange striped shirt, brown slacks, and brown leather dress shoes. After he headed northbound on that bus, what happened next is unknown.

The search for the elderly man is now over. A body found by the side of Highway 84 in Newark Tuesday night has been identified by the Alameda County coroner's bureau as Merritt.

Merritt suffered from dementia, but when his disappearance was publicized by Daly City Police, they reported that the man frequently used mass transit including BART and Muni and was often at a Burger King in San Francisco.

Merritt was pronounced dead around 7 p.m. by a paramedic called to the scene to give medical assistance.

His body was found on the right hand shoulder of the off-ramp to Ardenwood Boulevard on the border of Newark and Fremont, CHP Officer Manuel Leal said.

There is no further information available on the circumstances of his death.

— Bea Karnes, Patch Staff contributed to this report