Search for missing Redding man, 80, ends in tragedy after body found

August 4, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

UPDATED: Friday, Aug. 6, 3:30 p.m.

See Original Story below.

REDDING, Calif.,– Redding Police Department yesterday announced that the search for an elderly Redding man came to an end after the victim’s lifeless body was discovered near a set of railroad tracks in the area where his pickup truck had been previously located.

The victim, 80-year-old, Terry Kingsford, was last seen alive when he left his Redding home to run a few errands Monday, August 2.

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Although the 80-year-old man’s vehicle was later found not far from his residence, officials using all-terrain motorcycles, a K9, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were not able to find him. His disappearance has been deemed as suspicious and he is considered “At-Risk” due to the circumstances surrounding his case.

“Redding Police Officers continued to search for Terry Kingsford over the past several days,” department officials wrote in an update announcing that Kingsford’s body had been located.

“On Thursday, August 5th, 2021, Redding Police Officers, searching the area on all-terrain motorcycles, located and recovered Kingsford’s body near where his pickup truck had been previously found,” officials continued.

Although officials did not specify the nature of Kingsford’s passing, they said his death does not appear to be suspicious at this time and that their investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact the Redding Police Department at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 21R050523 and can remain anonymous.

Original Story: Public’s help sought locating missing “A-Risk” Redding man, 80

REDDING, Calif., — Authorities today are asking for the public’s assistance in locating an elderly man who disappeared after leaving his Redding home to run a few errands Monday, August 2. The missing man has been identified as Terry Kingsford.

City of Redding police officers began investigating Terry’s disappearance around 8:30 p.m. Monday evening after his wife Phyllis called to report that he had not returned home after running errands as expected, Redding Police Sergeant Rob Garnero explained yesterday.

Officers who responded to the couple’s home in the 900 block of Shawnee Trail interviewed Phyllis and learned that Terry left their residence in his vehicle around 3:40 p.m. to attend an eyecare appointment on Park Marina Drive, and then to shop at Home Depot in Redding.

“When Terry Kingsford did not return home within a reasonable length of time, she called his cell phone, which went straight to voicemail,” Garnero explained. “Out of concern for her husband’s well-being, Phyllis Kingsford called the Redding Police Department to report him missing.”

Later that evening, officers located Terry’s white 1996 Ford Ranger parked near Clay Street and Alder Drive, about a block away from his residence. The pickup truck was unoccupied and officers located Kingsford’s personal effects, including his cell phone, inside his vehicle.

With the new information, officers conducted a search of the couple’s residence, the area surrounding the home, and where his vehicle was located. During their search, officials used all-terrain motorcycles, a K9, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), but were not able to locate the missing man.

“Kingsford is considered a missing at-risk adult due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, his age, and no prior reports of being missing,” Garnero explained.

He has been described as a white male adult, 5’10” tall, 180 pounds, with hazel eyes and balding gray hair. He was last seen wearing a greenish white short sleeve shirt, light brown shorts, Sketchers tennis shoes, and a light brown golfing hat.

Anyone with information on Kingsford’s whereabouts or information regarding his disappearance or whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Redding Police Department at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 21R050523 and can remain anonymous.

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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.