(NewsNation) — A family is desperately asking for help in finding a man with a serious medical condition who hasn’t been seen or heard from in five months.
Last seen in Loveland, Colorado, 41-year-old Jance Varela lived in the Fort Collins area. His mother Linda Varela Adams says he had a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on vital organs.
Just before she last spoke with him, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and she is asking desperately for the public’s help in finding him.
“His personality is kind of bigger than life. He’s 6-foot-4, always a smile on his face,” Adams said.
Jance Varela has a serious medical condition called tuberous sclerosis, which causes tumors on his internal organs and requires regular monitoring.
“They told us … these tumors grow on vital organs, and if left unchecked, they take over the organ,” Adams said.
In May, Varela learned he had a brain tumor, already impacting his arms and hands.
“I’ve really been worried about his ability to make good decisions,” his mother said. “His judgment could be impaired because of the tumor.”
Adams said her son had been staying on friends’ couches around Fort Collins after losing his own apartment last year. He last spoke to his mother on May 26.
“My birthday is July 1, and he didn’t call me on my birthday, which was very unusual,” she said.
Adams filed a missing person report in July. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Department said without evidence anything happened to Varela, they can’t actively search for him. So, she turned to social media, which she had never used before.
“I’ve never had a Facebook page — never been on Twitter,” she said.
Her posts caught the attention of groups such as Missing in America, which placed Varela’s photo on billboards around Colorado, and Justice Takes Flight, whose founder made many flyers to attach to Halloween candy.
“I’m hoping that people will come and grab their favorite candy bar and see this flyer and just happen to have seen him or remember seeing him,” said Britney Hartman, executive director of Justice Takes Flight
Organizations are using every trick possible to get a mother’s message to her son.
“Jance, if you see this, or someone that knows Jance sees this, please come home. Please call me. I will come and get you wherever you are,” Adams said.
If you have any information on where Jance Varela’s whereabouts, please contact the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office at (970)498-5100.