The search continues for a missing 75-year-old man who has been missing for over 48 hours.

Ashcroft RCMP have taken over the investigation and are once again asking for help in finding Joseph Zabotel, who was reported missing earlier this week. They say he has dementia and may introduce himself as ‘Johnny Grinder’.

Police say Zabotel was last seen on around noon on August 29 near his house in the 1700-block of Highway 99, between Lillooet and Cache Creek. At the time, he was wearing a blue plaid shirt and a blue cap with the word ‘Sylvania’ on it.

In an update on Wednesday, RCMP say they are broadening the scope of the search because Zabotel has links to the Kamloops area as well as the state of Washington. Investigators are hoping to speak anyone who may have seen someone walking along Highway 99 or if they picked up a hitchhiker in that area on Sunday.

It comes after Pemberton Search and Rescue, as well as the RCMP’s Police Dog team conducted an extensive search of the area around Zabotel’s house.

“There is ongoing concern for Mr. Zabotel’s wellbeing,” Ashcroft RCMP Const. Richard Wright, said, in a statement. “To be away from home for this long is out of character.”

If you have any information regarding Zabotel’s whereabouts, you are asked to contact Ashcroft RCMP at 250-453-2216 or Crime Stoppers.