By Brian Zanzonico
Suffering with early effects of Alzheimer's Disease, Abrams has been missing since dropping off his son's fiancee, Donna, at a Valley Stream gym at Central Avenue and Merrick Road on Monday morning, March 28. He was supposed to meet son Jonathan at the West Hempstead home at 11 a.m. and never showed. Then Abrams failed to pick Donna up at the gym at 2:30 p.m. Jonathan, an only child, grew worried and began looking for his father. After hours of futile searching, he filed a missing persons report in the early evening.
"After 24 hours I was unsettled," Jonathan said. "Now it's nerve-wracking."
The morning of his disappearance, Abrams was traveling in a driving rainstorm. Jonathan fears the weather may have disoriented and confused his father, who first began exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer's about three months ago. He said Abrams has driven regularly since the diagnosis but stays relatively local, limiting his driving to Long Beach for a walk or to visit friends in Garden City and Manhasset. Jonathan said he has contacted the Malverne, Lynbrook and Long Beach police departments about his missing father. Nassau detectives are investigating the case.
"Donna said he didn't seem with it that morning," Jonathan said.
Jonathan said he contacted his father's credit card companies and that no transactions have been made. Abrams often talked about taking trips and had several female companions.
"Maybe he has [a girlfriend] I don't know about," he said. "But why wouldn't he call?"
Jonathan said Abrams may have, indeed, tried to contact him. A longtime friend who also serves as Abrams's attorney said a man sounding like Abrams called his office on Tuesday, March 29 at about 8:30 p.m. and said the name of the attorney before hanging up, Jonathan said. Abrams said it is possible his father thought he was calling Abrams and asked for his eight-year-old son, Alexander James, who has a name similar to the attorney.
Alexander James's name, along with 11-year-old sister Jessica, is on several of the greeting cards that line the front window sill, some dating as far back as 2003. Jonathan said his father and children have a close relationship.
"You say we're going to Poppy's house and they light up," he said.
On the other side of the living room are yellowed photos of Abrams from World War II, when he was a staff sergeant in the army attached to a mounted cavalry unit in the South Pacific. The uniform still hangs in the basement.
Deja Vu
Jonathan said his late father has good and bad days. He'll have his faculties three days in a row, then will reverse course and start recalling things Jonathan did 15 years ago. He said seeing what his father is going through reminds him of the struggle his mother, who died 13 years ago, went through suffering from dementia.
"This is almost the same," he said.
Jonathan said he has put more than 400 miles on his car searching for his father, who was last seen wearing a tan, long-sleeved sweater, a blue vest, black pants with a brown belt, brown shoes, a brown waist-length jacket, black gloves and a black hat. Abrams is 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 140 pounds with a horseshoe of white hair and a white beard. He was driving a four-door forest green 1997 Chrysler with New York license plates CEC-2157.
Baby-sitters have been keeping an eye on their children and while Jonathan and fiancee Donna
"I just keep waiting to see him pull up," Jonathan said.
Anyone with information on Abrams is urged to call the Missing Persons Section (516) 573-5370.
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.
