The family of Piseth Chhay, missing now for ten days, fears the worst but is still holding out hope that he may be found alive. The 48-year-old San Francisco man, a father of two boys and a full-time driver for Uber, disappeared along with his Mercedes SUV on Mother's Day. His cellphone was turned off and remains missing, along with his keys, but the car was discovered last weekend on a Bayview street, completely stripped, including its tires. As of Tuesday, SFPD officers served a search warrant in the vicinity of the car, according to KRON 4, though it's unclear if the warrant was served at any particular address. Police would only confirm that dogs were used as part of the search.
The search was completed at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Sfpd serves search warrant in search for missing Uber driver Piseth Chhay. Cleared search around 8:30 tonight. pic.twitter.com/EyfNsHl7w6
— Jean Elle (@nbcjeanelle) May 24, 2017
Chhay's wife, Rattana Kim, appeared on camera in the KRON 4 video above with her two sons, tearfully pleading for her husband to return home safe. The discovery of the car on Saturday, she says, "it points... to foul play for me."
Kim also spoke to NBC Bay Area, saying that the car being in the Bayview "means my husband didn't leave on his own. My husband wouldn't abandon his car in that area."
"They taking my husband they taking my life. He's my life. I'm dying slowly." #Piseth Chhay is still #missing pic.twitter.com/NhQLqeCrV0
— Lisa Amin Gulezian (@LisaAminABC7) May 21, 2017
The only clue that the family has had so far as to what might have happened to Chhay was that he told a relative that an Uber passenger had left their phone in his car the day before his disappearance, and that he wanted to return it. On the Sunday that Chhay went missing he was not driving for Uber, and had said he was heading to a friend's house.
According to an earlier report from ABC 7, that same passenger may have tracked Chhay down at his home, though that part of the story seems off if Chhay had also talked about returning the phone himself. Friend Brendan Tang said to ABC 7, voicing his own speculation, "I don't know if he was set up in any way. He's driving a Mercedes."
SFist has reached out to Uber to find out if they've been working with the SFPD on the investigation, and I'll update this post if we learn more.
Update: An Uber rep has confirmed that the company is aware of the case and has promptly cooperated with police requests for information. The company also urges anyone with information about the case to please contact police.
Previously: Missing Uber Driver's Car Found Stripped In Bayview