19-year-old man missing in Southern Nevada desert

By Mary Manning

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009 | 4:29 p.m.

Diego Arteaga had been attending a camp in the Amargosa Valley desert for about a year when he decided to walk away on Monday.

Arteaga, 19, son of Dr. Albert Arteaga and Maria Arteaga, of San Bernardino, Calif., has not been seen since he started walking to Pahrump in Nye County -- a distance of roughly 60 miles.

Camp counselors tried to stop the young man, who suffers from attention deficit disorder (ADD) and can be impulsive, Albert Arteaga said on Thursday. He left the camp wearing a white dress shirt and khaki shorts, his father said.

He carried no identification, cell phone, money or water.

"We are extremely worried," Albert Arteaga said Thursday afternoon. "I'm worried not only for my son, but for my wife, who is taking this extremely hard."

His mother believes Diego may be heading to Redlands, Calif., where he has friends and family.

"Diego, we love you very much," his mother said in a statement. "You are not in trouble. Do not be afraid. We want you to come home. We miss you and are afraid for your safety. We are looking for you. Please call home or the nearest police or sheriff."

His parents filed a missing person's report with the Nye County Sheriff's Office and his description and photo went out across the region.

One caller reported seeing someone walking in the desert south of Amargosa Valley on Monday and another report put him inside a Pahrump casino, but neither report panned out, said family friend Carl Dameron.

"Even though he is 19 years old, his parents are frantic," Dameron said this afternoon.

Albert Arteaga said he is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the safe whereabouts of his son.

Anyone who sees Diego Arteaga is asked to call Deputy Ray Robert with the Nye County Sheriff's Office at (775) 372-5345, or in California, the San Bernardino County Sheriff at 911 or a local law enforcement agency.