Family Searching for Answers After Coachella Valley Man Goes Missing Following Jail Release

A Coachella Valley family is urgently searching for answers after a 28-year-old man went missing following his arrest and release from a Riverside County jail.

Mark Anthony Vasquez was arrested last week in the city of Coachella. According to his family, they have not seen or heard from him since his release from custody nearly a week ago.

Vasquez was last seen on January 23, the day he was released from the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. His family says he has now been missing for six days, and they fear time is running out.

Family members say Vasquez suffers from cognitive issues and may be confused or unable to ask for help. They believe those challenges were made worse when he was released from jail at midnight in a city unfamiliar to him.

“Every hour that passes is terrifying,” said his mother, Linda Burger. “We’re just begging for help to bring him home.”

According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Vasquez was taken into custody on January 20 at the intersection of Cesar Chavez Street and Avenue 52 in Coachella. He was then transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, where he was booked on an outstanding felony warrant for vandalism.

Vasquez was released shortly after midnight on January 23. His family says that moment marked the beginning of their fear.

We reached out to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to ask why Vasquez was transported to Riverside and released there rather than in Coachella. In a statement, the department said, “It is not uncommon for inmates to be transported from one jail facility to another based on housing availability, court appearances, et cetera.”

Burger and her daughter, Natalie, say they were never notified of Vasquez’s arrest or release—something they find especially concerning given his cognitive condition.

The family says Vasquez does not have a cell phone or money and was released into a city he does not know. When hours turned into days with no contact, they filed a missing persons report with Riverside Police and began searching on their own.

Multiple attempts were made to contact the Riverside Police Department for information on Vasquez’s whereabouts, but no response was received.

For his family, the wait has become unbearable as the search continues.

Anyone with information about Mark Anthony Vasquez’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Riverside Police Department or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.