Missing Stoneridge Creek man found safe

Pleasanton police announced this afternoon that Rudy Johnson, who was reported missing late yesterday, has safely returned home.

Pleasanton resident Joanne Moran said she was driving northbound on I-680 going onto I-580 East towards Hopyard Road when a vehicle merged into her lane.

“I saw it was an elderly man and he just looked confused,” Moran said in an interview.

She added: “I remembered there were alerts out about a missing man so I checked them to verify the license plate and it was him.”

Moran called Pleasanton police and continued to follow Johnson, who drove to the Shell gas station on Owens Drive.

Moran waited at the gas station until police arrived to contact Johnson.

“I’m just happy I was able to help. I know his family and friends must have been worried,” she said.

Johnson, 82, had been missing since noon Tuesday when he failed to return to the Stoneridge Creek home where he lives with his wife Marge. Family members had not seen or heard from him, although he did make a purchase at a local store Tuesday.

Johnson, a retired Episcopalian clergyman, is widely known in the community and is a member of the Rotary Club of Pleasanton.

Police sent out a missing persons alert just before 11 p.m. Tuesday night.