Family reunited with missing man

Keith Paul

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

Christine Ortiz's eyes narrowed and her mouth went into a deep frown as she talked Wednesday about her mentally handicapped brother being missing for a week. But as soon as she talked about the miracle of finding him a little weary, but otherwise fine, her face lit up with a wide smile.

"This was your worst nightmare, but getting him back is just incredible," Ortiz said.

Ortiz and her family spent a week frantically searching for her brother, 32-year-old German Ramos, worried about his safety as they say he has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old. Ramos was found Tuesday, a week after he disappeared, but where he was during that time is still a mystery.

Ortiz said if someone had taken him into their house he would have mentioned it.

"We still don't know where he was," she said. "At this point it's just blank."

Metro Police will talk with Ramos again, likely today or Friday, to try to solve the remaining questions of where he was. Ramos was last seen at 6 p.m. on Feb. 12 on Thom Boulevard near his home.

"We think he was just out wandering," said Detective Roberto Juarez of the missing person unit. "He was very dehydrated and lost weight and that would be consistent with being outside for the week."

There is no evidence that someone took him, Juarez said.

On Tuesday Ramos was spotted sitting on the sidewalk near a cousin's house, seven days after he was last seen blocks away near his home in the area of Jay Avenue and Thom Boulevard. His cousin, Carmen Geraci, ran from her home when two high school girls knocked on her door and said Ramos was sitting a couple doors down.

"He was sitting there practically exhausted, but he was happy to see me," she said.

Ramos was taken to University Medical Center because he was dehydrated. He was still at the hospital this morning in fair condition, but was expected to be released later today.

Ramos sat at a table Wednesday at UMC with yellow balloons filled with helium floating above him.

He looked around, smiled and said, "I'm fine. I'm OK."

Sal Geraci, Carmen Geraci's husband, said he expects that Ramos will say things little by little to let them know what he was doing during the week that so many people were searching for him.

For Ramos' family the questions remaining aren't as important as having him home and safe.

As last week wore on and turned into the weekend and still Ramos wasn't found, Sal Geraci said he started to think the worst.

"You don't want to give up hope," he said. "But after seven days you start to think if would be able to survive."

But so many people were searching the northwest Las Vegas neighborhood for Ramos that Ortiz said she never gave up hope.

Ortiz said there were so many people to thank who helped look for her brother. Thousands and thousands of fliers of Ramos were posted around town.

But in the end it was Ramos who just returned. He was just sitting near his cousin's house -- a place he walked to every day.

"He found his way home," Ortiz said.

Ramos said he was very happy to be home and won't go away again.

"I won't do it again," Ramos said. "I promise."