Dallas Police are asking for the public’s help finding an 82-year-old man who vanished while driving near one of the city’s busiest hospital campuses. John Owen Woodall was last seen at approximately 3:00 p.m. last Saturday in the 3500 block of Gaston Avenue, behind the wheel of a 2017 silver Toyota Tundra with Texas license plate MYX5366. Police say he may be in need of assistance.
The department shared Woodall’s description and the appeal for tips in a post from the Dallas Police Department, describing him as a white male standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, with brown eyes and a bald head. The case has been logged under reference number 116898-2026, a numbering system Dallas Police use to track tips and direct search efforts through detectives in the department’s Youth and Family Services Division, according to WFAA. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or (214) 671-4268.
***Critical Missing***The Dallas Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a critical missing person.John Owen Woodall is described as an 82-year-old White male with brown eyes and is bald. He is 5’09” tall and weighs approximately 200 lbs.Mr. Woodall… pic.twitter.com/LVZIeTvJlG
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) August 10, 2026
The 3500 block of Gaston Avenue where Woodall was last seen sits on the campus of Baylor University Medical Center, a flagship Level I trauma center with more than 900 beds in East Dallas, according to Baylor Scott & White Health. It is unknown whether Woodall was receiving care at the hospital before he disappeared; that detail has not been addressed in police statements.
What a Critical Missing Designation Means
Dallas Police have not publicly labeled Woodall’s case with a specific designation in their public appeal, but the department’s standard protocol for cases involving elevated personal risk, medical needs, or diminished capacity is known as critical missing. That designation triggers an immediate 24-hour active field search rather than routine administrative handling, a procedure Hoodline outlined this past weekend in its coverage of a missing 15-year-old last seen near NorthPark Center. Dallas Police also relied on the same protocol earlier this week while searching for two children who vanished together near department headquarters…