Charlie Dowd Missing: Retired Firefighter's Family Believes He Fell From Train

Former San Francisco firefighter Charlie Dowd has been missing since last week, when he mysteriously vanished from an Amtrak train traveling from the Bay Area to Chicago.

And now, Dowd's family may have some insight as to the cause of his disappearance. They originally thought he became disoriented without his medication and accidentally exited the train before his destination. But now, it appears he may have fallen from the vehicle somewhere between eastern Colorado and western Nebraska.

According to Amtrak police, a passenger saw the 69-year-old San Mateo resident standing near a train door on Thursday night. That same door was later found ajar.

Dowd's luggage, cellphone and medication arrived in Chicago on Friday.

His daughter, Jen Dowd, told the Associated Press that officials will now focus the search for her father on the 160 miles between Fort Morgan, Colo., and McCook, Neb.

Dowd is five feet ten inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. Anyone with any information about his whereabouts should call Amtrak police at (800) 331-0008 or the Dowd family at (650) 766-6470.

Visit his family's Facebook page for more information.