UPDATE 6:30 P.M.: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office has reported that California State Parks rangers have located Gabriel Marroquin in the Cambria area and have placed him in contact with his family.

ORIGINAL STORY

Gabriel Marroquin, a 31-year-old Wasco resident, is missing. He was last seen in Cambria near the Shell station and Highway 1 in Cambria about 11:30 p.m. Dec. 26, according to Sgt. Jim Craig of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department substation in Wasco.

Family members reported his disappearance on Dec. 29.

Marroquin is 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs about 240 pounds and has brown eyes and hair.

Marroquin, a refrigeration specialist who works for Cochran Mechanical in Bakersfield, is divorced and has an 11-year-old son, according to his sister, Andrea Marroquin.

She said her brother apparently had been traveling west on Highway 46 when the company truck he was driving ran out of gas or had a mechanical problem. A company official has since retrieved the truck.

Javier Garcia of Cambria gave Gabriel Marroquin a lift after spotting the barefoot man walking westward on the highway. Garcia took Marroquin to the Shell station and bought him a pair of sandals.

Marroquin apparently gave the truck’s keys to Garcia, saying he had no money, but was heading to Redding to visit family, according to Garcia’s brother Victor Gutierrez.

However, the missing man’s sister said they don’t have family members in that Northern California city. She said she’s concerned that her brother may be confused or suffering from a medical problem that’s affecting his memory.

Marroquin’s wallet was found in the truck, according to his cousin Frank Gonzales of McFarland.

Sgt. Craig said the missing man apparently had been traveling to such other places as Paso Robles, Pacifica and Seaside.

Anyone who sees the missing man is asked to call the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department at 781-4550 or the Kern County Sheriff's Department at (661) 758-7266.