Far Rockaway man missing, Allan Rothman, 56, last seen Wednesday

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Dec. 19, 2008 / 22 Kislev 5769

Allan Rothman, 56, a Far Rockaway man who suffers from diabetes, has been missing for a week. He was last seen on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, when he ate lunch with some of the students there. Since then, there has been no trace of him, prompting family members to file a missing persons report and enlist the help of local police and Jewish volunteer organizations.

“Not much has turned up so far,” Naftali Rothman, his son, told The Jewish Star late Monday. “We have had searches conducted, we’ve put fliers up and we have volunteers combing the neighborhood, but nothing new has come up.”

Rothman, 56, lives at the Rockaway Manor group home, an assisted living facility on Beach 8th Street in Far Rockaway. Though he is able to get around on his own — he can travel by train and has held down an occasional job at a local matzo bakery — he relies on various medications, including anti-depressants and insulin injections.

“It is hard to say what he’s like without his medicine...He gets very emotional,” Naftali said. “He’s also a diabetic, so the situation is worrisome. He could get into a dangerous situation without insulin, though he has gone without it before.”

Naftali Rothman describes his father as very friendly, “with great communication skills, who makes relationships very easily.” He is a frequent visitor at the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, where he has befriended many of the students, as well as people in the vicinity of Rockaway Manor. Rothman says that in the past week he has received a flood of phone calls from Far Rockaway residents concerned for his father’s welfare.

There have been several unconfirmed sightings of Allan Rothman near the yeshiva since Wednesday but his whereabouts remained unknown as of Tuesday evening when The Jewish Star went to press. Searchers were sent to several places to follow up on what Naftali Rothman called “reliable tips” that his father had been spotted, but no concrete information has surfaced.

“Every single yeshiva and shul in Far Rockaway has been checked, the schools are being searched, and people were even looking for him on Shabbos,” he said, describing the intensive search efforts underway. “On Motza’ei Shabbos we had about 100 people combing a 10-block radius; we had helicopters, people knocking on doors, and fliers with his picture were put on literally every car in Far Rockaway.”

Naftali Rothman, who lives in Bergenfield, NJ, says he is overwhelmed by the amount of assistance and support he has received from the members of community organizations including Hatzalah, Misaskim, Chaverim and Shomrim from all over New York and New Jersey.

“They have all really come together and been a big help, setting up a command center and forming search parties,” he said. “Help is pouring in and it’s really nice, Mi K’amcha Yisroel...There are literally 50 to 100 people volunteering who stay up all night to follow any leads.”

Based on the unconfirmed sightings and Allan’s familiarity with the neighborhood, the search efforts are being concentrated in Far Rockaway. Allan is 5’6” and 130 pounds and is believed to be wearing black pants and a black velvet yarmulke under a black overcoat. He also has a distinctively stiff gait, since he walks with a limp, very slowly.

“Our hope is that he either met up with a friend we don’t know about who is taking care of him, or that he is in a hospital under the wrong name,” Naftali said. “Hopefully we will generate enough buzz so that somebody will step forward with new information that we don’t know yet.”

Anyone with information on Allan is urged to call Shomrim at (718) 871-6666 or Hatzalah at (718) 387-1750.