José Velasquez Missing Since July; Family Seeks Public’s Help, $15K Reward Offered

Los Angeles County, CA: Family members are desperately seeking the public’s help in locating José Velasquez, 35, who was reported missing at the end of July, 2022. The family mentions in their on-camera interview that there is a $15,000 reward offered to find José.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Missing Person flyer that has circulated on social media, Velasquez was last seen on the evening of July 27, near the Janss Market Place in the city of Thousand Oaks. Velasquez’s vehicle was located in the 1600 block of Rancho Conejo Boulevard also in Thousand Oaks.

Velasquez is known to frequent the cities of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Camarillo, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to the family per the flyer, José would never go this long without contacting a family member. Velasquez is described as a Hispanic male, 5’9″ tall, 170 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

Additional information regarding when Velasquez was last seen was reported to the sheriff’s office, according to a close friend. That close friend said about five of José’s friends were with him at the Sunset Terrace Restaurant & Lounge located on the 200 block of North Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks. José left with a close friend at around 12:50 a.m. Thursday, July 28, and went their separate ways. Their cars were parked at opposite ends of a parking structure.

That same close friend who imparted that information, told Key News Network that they personally knew José for over four years, and some of the rest of the group have known him for over ten. The tightly-knit group considers him “family” and are all hoping the public can help in bringing José home.

Key News Network interviewed José’s aunts, Carmen Ventura and Gloria Velasquez, along with Mother Rita Maldonado who lives out of state but is currently staying with family members in the Southern California area, hoping José is found soon.

Dressed in matching purple t-shirts holding photos of José, the three women spoke in Spanish about José and the last communications. Aunt Carmen, seated on the left in the video, said the last time she communicated with José was on his 35th birthday on July 8, 2022, via text message and he responded eight hours later because he was busy with work, replying back “thank you aunt” and she liked his response, and since then, never talked or messaged him.

Mother Rita, seated in the middle of the two aunts, said the last time she spoke with him via phone was July 27, and he told her “I love you and I will visit you soon” (meaning he was planning to visit mom in Virginia) and that was the last communication they had. She also mentioned he was loved, and is a caring and funny person to be around. She pleaded if anyone knows anything about José to let authorities know as soon as possible and that there is a $15,000 reward.

Aunt Gloria Velasquez, seated at the right, said, “José I love you, I miss you, please come back home.” She went on to say how much she missed Sundays when she and José used to drink coffee, sweet bread, play video games, play cards, laugh, and make jokes.

Gloria asked the public if anyone knows where José is, to notify them as they are suffering each day. “You have a big family waiting for you,”she said. “Our hearts are broken.”

She also added that he is a hard worker, likes soccer, and is full of dreams. She said José recently got his general contractor’s license and had lots of projects. He is the type of person you want to be around, he is always happy, caring, intelligent, loves reading and has lots of friends, Gloria added.

They said his friends are the missing piece of the puzzle to find him as sometimes friends know more than a family member, said Gloria.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of José Velasquez, or has any tips, is urged to contact Detective Jacobs at (805) 384-4729.

Video: Oscar Sol, Photojournalist / KNN

© 2022 Key News Network