Search For Missing Elderly Man Puts High School On Lockdown

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A high school was placed on lockdown on Thursday after confusion over reports of a missing elderly man.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department was searching for a missing man who was last seen in the 3200 block of Kaiser Way earlier in the morning.

A helicopter announcement was made sometime after noon on Thursday during the school's fifth period classes.

Staff at El Camino High School heard the announcement, but weren't able to make out what it said. Out of caution, the school was placed on lockdown, fearing the announcement could be about a search for a suspect instead of a missing elderly man.

The lockdown lasted less than 10 minutes.

The school's principal put out an announcement to parents at around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

The search continues for 70-year-old Phillip Haas, who was last seen in the 3200 block of Kaiser way. He's described as a white male with gray hair and hazel eyes, standing about 6 feet tall, weighing 190 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans along with eyeglasses.

Haas has been diagnosed with a condition that causes him to be easily confused and disoriented.

Thursday's lockdown comes on the one-year anniversary of a lockdown related to the shooting death of a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy. Robert French lost his life in a shootout at the Ramada Inn on Aug. 30, 2017. One of the suspects fled the shooting and crashed about a block away from the school, prompting the lockdown.