Missing
Adagio Talifero
Adagio, approximately 2018
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/07/2018
Missing location (approx) :
Goleta Beach, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
Biracial, Black, Hispanic
DOB : 05/01/2004 (17)
Age at the time of disappearance: 14 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4 - 5'7, 100 - 120 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Biracial (African-American/Caucasian) male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Adagio's nickname is Dag. He may shave his head. One of his front teeth protrudes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Adagio was last seen in June 2018. He was homeschooled and lived with his father, Gerald, on a farm near Nevada City, California. They left the farm on June 2, and this is the last time anyone saw Adagio.
In the following days, Gerald visited friends in Arizona, and relatives in Santa Barbara and Ojai, California, and left some of his belongings with these people. He said he and Adagio were going to sail a friend's 30-foot sailboat to Hawaii. When he was asked where Adagio was, Gerald said he was on the boat with friends. It was unusual of Adagio not to accompany his father everywhere, as they were very close.
Gerald set sail from Goleta Beach, California on June 7. There was a possible planned stop in San Diego, California. The trip to Hawaii should have taken three to six weeks. Gerald's ex-wife and his family became concerned when they didn't hear from him or Adagio within five weeks, and contacted the Coast Guard, but they had no information about the boat so there was little the Coast Guard could do.
The pair apparently never arrived in Hawaii. They were supposed to fly back to San Diego on September 1 and had already purchased tickets, but never made the flight.
It's possible Gerald and Adagio perished at sea, but Adagio's mother, who divorced from Gerald in 2013, believes her son may be alive and that Gerald may have taken him and disappeared voluntarily. Their cases remain unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
805-681-4100
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
