GRANT-VALKARIA, Fla. — FBI Tampa is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing truck driver who disappeared earlier this month while transporting vehicles through Florida.
Investigators are searching for Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez, who was last seen on April 17 at a rest area along Interstate 95 south in Grant-Valkaria in Brevard County.
According to the FBI, Gonzalez was driving a truck hauling vehicles from the Port of Brunswick to Miami when he went missing after a possible hijacking.
Authorities say the truck and some of the vehicles he was transporting have since been recovered, but Gonzalez remains unaccounted for.
Ch. 9 spoke with drivers at the same rest stop on Sunday.
“I feel sorry for his family because they’re worried about him,” said Robert Wallace.
Wallace is a truck driver. He’s been driving for close to 30 years. He said he’s not shocked by the story. According to him, things like this happen more than many might think.
“People try to do the wrong thing. They think that truck drivers are vulnerable,” said Wallace.
Safety is their top priority, especially for drivers who transport vehicles, as the FBI said Gonzalez did.
Wallace notes that most truck drivers choose public rest areas that are busy, well-lit, and secure. Those are all the things the Grant Valkaria rest area has.
He said, That’s why “[I] think it’s odd.” He believes that if Gonzalez was hijacked, someone must have known when the security guard was out doing their rounds to make a move on him.
“I hope they find him,” said Wallace.
Federal agents are urging anyone who may have been at the rest area during the early morning hours of April 17 to come forward with information. Investigators are especially interested in any photos or videos taken at the location that could assist in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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