Detroit police are asking for the public’s help finding Ramon Chaney, a 71-year-old man who disappeared from his home in the 16800 block of East Warren Avenue on August 11 and never returned. Chaney is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 205 pounds, with grey hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a black top, gray jogging pants, and black boots. According to his caregiver, Chaney lives with both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, conditions that make his disappearance especially concerning for investigators.
The case, first reported by ClickOnDetroit, is not the first time Chaney has vanished under similar circumstances. Detroit police previously sought help locating him in July 2024, when he went missing from Codding Street while dealing with the same mental health conditions, according to a report at the time. That earlier case, combined with this one, points to a recurring pattern of vulnerability tied to his diagnoses.
Research from the National Institute of Mental Health helps explain why: schizophrenia can severely disrupt the brain’s internal navigation system, impairing spatial memory in ways that leave people more prone to becoming lost or disoriented once they leave a familiar setting. For a caregiver or family member, that risk means every hour without contact carries added weight.
How to Report Information
Anyone with information on Chaney’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department’s 5th Precinct at 313-596-5540. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, which assigns tipsters a unique reference number to guarantee anonymity under state law while still routing information directly to investigators, according to Crime Stoppers of Michigan.
A Precinct Under Pressure From Rising Caseloads
The 5th Precinct, headquartered at 3500 Conner Avenue under Commander Lawrence Purifoy, oversees East Side residential neighborhoods including the Jefferson Chalmers district, where East Warren Avenue sits. It’s one of several Detroit precincts grappling with a growing volume of missing person reports: the department logged more than 3,100 such cases in 2024, an 18% jump from the year before, with local reporting noting that a substantial share involved vulnerable adults living with mental health conditions or cognitive impairments, per Deadline Detroit…