Family and Friends Searching for Tik Yam Lam, Missing Since Nov. 13

Tik Yam Lam walked out of his Center City apartment a little more than six weeks ago, with no access to a car and just the clothes on his back, and seemingly disappeared.

The Philadelphia resident, who has relatives in Cherry Hill, may have been spotted twice since leaving his home Nov. 13, but his family and Philadelphia police are still searching for the 72-year-old.

Friends of the family say there have only been a few hints at where Lam may have gone following his disappearance—they had a report of an elderly Asian man walking along the shoulder of a highway in the Lower Merion/Tredyffrin area on Nov. 14, more than 13 miles from Lam’s apartment.

But a conflicting report from a driver on the Ben Franklin Bridge put an older Asian man walking across the bridge into New Jersey. Despite that, those searching for Lam say it’s possible he could’ve gone in any direction, and given the stress he would’ve been under, may have been capable of pushing himself a great distance.

Complicating the situation is the fact that Lam has dementia and doesn’t speak English.

Lam, who is described as about 5-foot-3 and 125 pounds by police, was wearing a flannel shirt and a vest when he left his apartment in November, and had only moved to Philadelphia from New Jersey a few months prior to his disappearance. He was carrying a New Jersey ID card with him when he left the apartment.

Those searching for Lam say they think he could be anywhere within a 150-mile radius of Philadelphia, and are asking anyone who has seen a man fitting Lam’s description to contact Philadelphia Police at 215-686-3193.