SPOKANE, Wash. – New video of 28-year-old Alexander Piceno, a father of two who went missing in March, may provide clues about the night he lost contact with family and friends after barhopping in downtown Spokane.
“How has it been two-and-a-half weeks and we have absolutely nothing,” Cami Aguayo, Alex’s friend and aunt to his daughters, asked.
Cami Aguayo last heard from her friend, Piceno, on March 22. Since then, she and the missing man’s family haven’t heard a peep from the person they know and love, and very little details have emerged from the night he went missing.
“You kind of lose count after that first week and just try to stay positive,” Aguayo said.
At the end of March, Aguayo and Piceno’s brother, Madeira Roy, along with a few other friends and family members spoke with NonStop Local’s Ava Wainhouse as they posted missing persons flyers across downtown.
By April they had hoped to have answers, to be reunited with their friend, brother, and father; but that is not the case.
All they know is Piceno was out on the town the night he went missing, barhopping in a popular area. Security footage from The Globe Bar & Grill, given to us – with permission to air – by Piceno’s friends and family, shows the man standing at a crowded bar, leaving just before closing, and then catching up with a group walking down on Division.
In the video, Piceno can be seen laughing – appearing to be in a good mood.
“It was a breath of fresh air to be able to see that and see that he was happy, that he was having fun,” Aguayo said.
But as time goes on without hearing from him, Piceno’s loved ones are becoming increasingly more anxious about what happened after the video captured him in and outside the bars.
The Spokane Police Department (SPD) confirmed they viewed Piceno walking through Riverfront Park later that night, through the park’s security footage, but SPD did not see him leave the area.
They are investigating Piceno’s case, but SPD deals with on average 30-50 missing persons cases daily. Officer Dan Strassenberg said often there is a simple, yet sad, explanation for many of them.
“People as adults have just decided to walk away from their lives and we find them years later and they simply decided they didn’t want to deal with their families anymore,” Strassenberg said. “If there are extenuating circumstances or some red flags that will be the stuff that our draws our attention, and we will look into instantly.”
Strassenberg added this particular case is a bit strange; you wouldn’t expect a father of two to just up and leave his family.
“He has to know if he did that, he has to know his girls are asking questions and are looking for him,” Aguayo said. “He is always showing up for them, every event, everything he’s there.”
But coming up on three weeks later, Piceno has still not appeared. The idea of foul play, of danger, haunts his friends and family. But they are holding out hope that somewhere he is okay, safe.
They are asking the community to please come forward with any information, if you recognize Piceno from the night he went missing. Call Crime Check at 509 – 456 – 2233 with tips and leads.
“If he is out there watching, just know we love him and we miss him, and that his girls need him,” Aguayo said.
