MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A Houston-area veteran has been missing for more than a week and his family and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office have issued a plea to the public to help find him.
Juan Merlos, 36, is a Marine who lives in Cut and Shoot, north of Houston.
Juan was last seen on Aug. 20. He made two calls to friends in Los Angeles on Aug. 21 but his phone has been dead since then.
"He’s very missed and very loved," sister Jackie Henriquez Merlos told KHOU 11 as she fought back tears.
She said the family is still reeling from the sudden loss of another sister in July and they can't bear another loss.
"We’re honestly trying to keep the faith, but the faith is pretty low because we just lost our little sister Karen a month ago in a Hurricane Beryl car accident," Jackie told us. "That’s why we’re playing to the public because we don’t want to lose another sibling.”
Jackie said Juan served in the Marines for six years and recently moved back to Cut and Shoot to be closer to his family. She said he'd been managing PTSD but the loss of their sister rocked the family to its core.
Juan was last seen driving his blue 2009 Chevrolet Silverado with license plate RRB 5140. The truck was spotted in Segovia, Texas on Aug. 20 but family members said they don't know if Juan was driving it. The license plate was last read in New Mexico.
Juan was supposed to fly to Los Angeles to see a friend on Wednesday but missed the flight.
Jackie said Juan also missed his weekly meeting with their mother.
"This isn’t like him for him to be missing," Jackie said. "We just want him back and we want him to know that we love you wherever you’re at."
Juan is 6 feet tall and 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has a large skull tattoo with a butterfly under it on his left forearm and was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call MCSO at 936-760-5800, select option 3 and refer to case #24A243812.