Man Vanishes After CCTV Footage Shows Him Entering Apartment But Never Leaving

Police in San Francisco are trying to locate Christopher Woitel, a 50-year-old man who has been reported missing.

CCTV footage shows Christopher Woitel entering his apartment on January 8.

The 50-year-old was captured entering the front door and walking to his Mission District apartment with a bottle of wine. According to KPIX 5 News, Woitel spoke to his family on the following day, January 9. Since then, however, nobody has seen or heard from him. Although he was recorded walking into his apartment building, there is no footage of Woitel ever leaving it. On January 13, the man’s mother alerted the San Francisco Police that he had gone missing. Unfortunately, police and private investigators could not locate Woitel as they found his apartment empty with no signs of foul play and the chain on the front door still engaged, UNILAD reported. Speaking to KPIX 5 News, Chris Woitel’s sister Lara Haben commented:

There’s been no activity. He’s not been in his apartment. There’s no activity on his bank [account]. We’re very anxious to find him.

The man’s family traveled to San Francisco to help search for him.

Woitel’s three siblings flew from Chicago to help search for their brother by handing out missing person posters near his building. Kathy Flynn, Woitel’s other sister, shared how difficult everything has been: “It’s hard to sleep. It’s hard to think. It’s hard to focus on anything else. We miss him so much.” Similarly, Chris Woitel’s brother Frank also shared, “There isn’t a day goes by at this point without wondering, “What happened?”, “Where is he?”‘

The last time Woitel contacted the family, he left a strange message to his niece.

According to Mission Local, the man sent the following message: “Please tell Lara to check her messages. It’s urgent.” Although his sister had tried to call him after this, she had received no answer. It is important to note that Woitel had apparently been acting “strange and paranoid”, UNILAD further reported. The man had been obsessing over the January 6 Capitol riots and writing unusual posts on social media. In addition to this, he had asked for money so that he could escape to the mountains and replace a phone that he had lost. His family had checked whether he had actually escaped to the mountains but, according to friends who owned property there, Woitel was nowhere to be found.

Christopher Woitel is a 5’10” tall white male with brown hair, brown eyes, and weighing about 170 lbs. San Francisco Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit has asked for the public’s help. If you see this man, please contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.