Asheville Police Seek Public Help Finding Missing, Endangered 60-Year-Old Man

Gerald Bethel Colwell, 60, has not been heard from since March 9, and the Asheville Police Department is asking anyone who may have seen him to come forward.

Colwell was last spotted on Patton Avenue in Asheville on March 10. His family reported him missing on March 18, and police issued a public appeal on March 23, more than two weeks after his last known communication.

Police describe Colwell as a white male standing 5-foot-7 and weighing around 145 pounds, with gray hair, blue eyes, and a mustache. A distinguishing wolf print and shield tattoo marks his right calf. He is developmentally delayed and known to frequent west Asheville, with a residence on South Bear Creek Road. He drives a gray-white Volkswagen Golf.

Patton Avenue runs through the heart of West Asheville, a stretch familiar to longtime residents for its mix of neighborhood businesses and foot traffic, making it a logical starting point for anyone who may have crossed paths with Colwell in early March.

Anyone with information on Colwell's whereabouts should contact the Asheville Police Department at (828) 252-1110. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the TIP2APD app, available by searching "Asheville PD" in your device's app store, or by texting TIP2APD to 847411.