Mohammad Ala

• Missing Since 08/14/2023
• Missing From Laguna Beach, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 01/29/1952 (73)
• Age 71 years old
• Height and Weight 5'8, 110 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray shirt, denim pants, black shoes and a straw hat.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Gold 2006 Toyota Avalon with the California license plate number 5TKD181
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. White hair, green eyes. Ala is of Iranian descent.

Details of Disappearance

Ala was last seen in Laguna Beach, California on August 14, 2023. He was driving home from his brother's house in Long Beach, California but missed a freeway exit. His sister called him at 4:30 p.m. because he was late getting home, and he told her he'd gotten lost but was now on the right track and would be home.

He never arrived home, and when his sister tried to call him again the phone was either turned off or the battery was dead. Before the phone died, it pinged off towers near Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley, California, then in Anaheim, California at 8:00 p.m.

The following day, a surveillance camera showed Ala's gold 2006 Toyota Avalon with the California license plate number 5TKD181 driving on Firestone Boulevard at the 605 Freeway in Downey, California. The camera did not show who was driving. A photo of the car is posted with this case summary.

Ala has never been heard from again. He is an award-winning documentary film producer and a retired professor who taught at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Southern California, and California State University, Los Angeles. His case remains unsolved.