Happy Father's Day! Dad, missing since 2006, found — living 50 miles away

Father's Day will be extra special for one Mendota family.

A father reported missing since 2006 was found nearly 12 years later, living 50 miles away in Selma, according to the Mendota Police Department.

While Antonio Ruiz Cisneros was indeed missing from his son, Edgar Ruiz Pena, Cisneros was always being cared for at a convalescent home in Selma. Mendota police shared details of the unusual twists that disconnected Cisneros and Pena and the steps the department took to reunite the father and son.

It started with what the Fresno County Sheriff's Office termed a "brutal" 2006 beating of a man in Mendota, police said. At the time, the sheriff's office provided policing to the city of Mendota.

The injured man, at the time and up until now thought to be named "Edgar," was taken to University Medical Center in Fresno and was treated for his injuries following the assault, Mendota police said. He was moved to Selma Convalescent Hospital in December 2006. University Medical Center closed its hospital doors in 2007.

The twist and re-discovery of Cisneros came in May, when Mendota police Sgt. Jorge Urbieta was reviewing missing person reports and came across Cisneros' case. Pena, Cisneros' son, had tried his luck again and reported his father missing to Mendota police in 2016, 10 years after his father's disappearance.

Urbieta didn't have much to go on, but he turned to the internet to cross-reference Cisneros' birth date and Social Security number. That's when he came across an "Edgar" who matched the information living at Selma Convalescent Hospital.

Urbieta contacted officials at Selma Convalescent Hospital and learned that "Edgar" was still living there, being cared for by a social worker, Esperanza Chavez. Urbieta showed Chavez a photo of Cisneros and she confirmed that "Edgar" was indeed Antonio Ruiz Cisneros, the missing Mendota father.

A nearly 13-year mystery was solved with the help of a sleuthing police sergeant and a son who did not give up the search for his father.

This story was originally published June 16, 2018 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Happy Father's Day! Dad, missing since 2006, found — living 50 miles away."