Police investigating mysterious disappearance of Mercer Island man as kidnapping

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — The mysterious disappearance of a Mercer Island man is now being investigated as a kidnapping case, according to the family 74-year-old Curtis Engeland.

Over the weekend, the Washington State Patrol pushed out a Silver Alert for Engeland. He was last seen on Feb. 23 at around 6:30 a.m. KIRO 7 went to the neighborhood of 62nd Avenue Southeast on Mercer Island, Engeland’s last known location. Neighbors expressed their concern about the situation.

“I was very shocked,” Jessica Le, Engeland’s neighbor, said.

Laurie Goeken says she’s been Engeland’s neighbor for ten years and they very close. She says Engeland is an avid hiker and gardener.

“He brings over flowers, vegetables. He attends our family events,” Goeken said.

She tells KIRO 7 that from the beginning, she and neighbors felt something was truly off about the set of circumstances.

“In fact, it feels like a nightmare episode of CSI, right? Except it’s about somebody we care about so deeply. So, it is just very, very difficult to process and understand,” Goeken said.

One of Engeland’s family members says multiple agencies are involved with the investigation. While there is still a lot that is not known about what happened, those who know Engeland are holding on to hope.

“And we do that because we love him and care about him. And we want him back, and we want everything to be just fine for him when he is back,” Goeken said.

If anyone has any information about Engeland’s whereabouts, they are urged to call 911 immediately.

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