The search for a missing Aquilla Texas man has focused on Lake Brownwood this week when his pickup truck surfaced at Mountain View Lodge.  Richard Gary Parker, 76, has been missing for almost 3 weeks according to his family who have been on a desperate hunt to find their loved one.

Parker hasn’t been seen since driving off on April 24 from his home in the 1900 block of Farm-to-Market 933 in Aquilla.  He suffers from dementia and has Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure and family members say he desperately needs medication.

Relatives are at Lake Brownwood as of Tuesday where they said they would search for Parker.

Parker’s truck had been parked for at least several days at Mountain View Lodge at Lake Brownwood, which is about 120 miles from his home.

Employees of the lodge recently noticed the vehicle and had it towed late last week believing it was abandoned. The towing company notified the Texas Department of Public Safety which later checked the license number and discovered the truck belonged to the missing man.

The DPS contacted the Hill County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday and notified them of the discovery.  Authorities don’t know whether Parker is dead or alive and his whereabouts are still a mystery.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office has helped in the search and checked hospitals in the area without success.

Family members said earlier that the pickup in which Parker drove off had a full tank of gas, but because he hadn’t driven in several years, they thought it was unlikely that he had gone far. They spent days knocking on doors in Aquilla and driving down seldom-traveled rural roads in an effort to find the missing man.

The Hill County Sheriff’s Office checked out several leads on the missing man’s whereabouts without success.  The family is now hopeful that this new discovery at Lake Brownwood will help unravel the mystery of Parker’s location.

“My entire family is headed there now to look for him and meet with the police,” said Parker’s granddaughter Audrey Parker.  “We really need to get the word out to the people in Brownwood to help us find him.”

If anyone has information regarding the whereabouts of Richard Gary Parker, please contact the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at 325-646-5518.