LATHROP — A 22-year-old truck school student who went missing three weeks ago in Lathrop is now the subject of a police search.

Sukwinder Singh’s distraught family in Kent, Washington - along with extended family in Turlock - are offering a $5,000 reward for information about the 22-year-old who went missing while walking near Interstate 5 and Lathrop Road.

Deputies are asking for the public’s help in finding Singh who was last seen on De Lima Road in Lathrop on Oct. 8 at about 7 p.m.

Singh had intended to take instruction at the Dasmesh Truck Driving School in the 200 block of Dos Ries Road located near I-5.  His focus was in getting a Class A license to drive trucks.

The Indian national had immigrated to Washington nearly a year ago and was living with his parents and working two part-time jobs.  He had quit those jobs a week before heading to California.

A friend, Joe Grewal, said Wednesday morning that Singh had come to Lathrop with a buddy from the north state hitching a ride in his 18-wheeler.  He noted that after the driver had dropped off his load he had taken the young man to Turlock on Monday of that week to visit a brother-in-law before he headed back to Washington with his truck

The owner of the school, “Gogi” Ravinder Singh,  was quoted as saying the missing man had only talked to him on the phone and that he had never seen him, but had told him to stay in the boarding house and register on Monday. 

Grewal said that Singh returned to Lathrop from Turlock on Saturday, Oct. 8, and dropped his bags off at the boarding house on Manley Road used by truck driving students while they are taking classes.

He added that the school is operated by people of Indian descent and has become popular with immigrants because they speak their native language making the classes easier to understand. 

Grewal – an Indian truck driver himself out of Lodi – has been conducting his own investigation into finding Singh.  He and the brother-in-law from Turlock have retraced the 22-year-old’s probable steps after arriving at the boarding house on Manley Road.

They knew he had arrived about 6:15 p.m. that Saturday when he dropped off his bags, but hadn’t yet registered for the school.  He had planned to do that the coming Monday.  Grewal said they believe he had left the boarding house about 6:45 and walked a mile to the Chevron Station at the corner of Lathrop and Harlan roads where he was caught on surveillance video buying a burrito and a bottle of water.

The men subsequently discovered Singh had then walked across the Harlan Road intersection to the Walgreen’s Drug Store where he was once again caught by a surveillance camera having purchased a razor and mouth wash.  Shortly after that video was recorded, he disappeared, last seen on DeLima Road talking on his cell phone in front of the boarding house at about 7:30 p.m.

Grewal said that Singh has two older brothers and one younger living in Washington.  He noted that the mother and dad are extremely concerned adding that her diabetes has flared up putting her in the hospital twice since her son went missing.

The family continued calling their son on his cell, noting it rang for several days and then went dead to incoming calls.  They said he had about $800 on his person and a bank card when he left Washington leaving $600 of that with relatives in Turlock. 

The bank card had not been used since he disappeared.  He was said to be a happy person who has never used alcohol or drugs.  For him not to call them for a period of time is very out of the ordinary for their son, they added.

To get to the Chevron Station and the Walgreen’s store he had to have walked down the frontage road adjacent to Interstate 5 to Lathrop Road walking under the freeway overpass to those stores as he had no vehicle and most likely walked back to the boarding house.

Lathrop detectives have been in contact with Washington State Police to determine whether the man had returned home.  He had not, according to Sheriff’s spokesman Les Garcia.  Singh is described as being 6-foot-tall, weighing about 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.  He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans.

He has a religious Indian tattoo on the back of his right hand with the meaning of,  “God is One.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Lathrop Police Services at (209) 468-4400 or “Text a Tip” to 274637 and in the message type SJSO, after a space, then text in the tip.