Missing Morton Man’s Family Looks for Closure

On Dec. 28, 2012, 76-year-old dementia patient Lawrence “Larry” Thorsteinson walked away from the Heritage House assisted living facility in Morton.

Nearly three years later, his family still isn’t sure exactly what happened to him.

“What I’m hoping for now … is closure for the kids,” said Lynette Mattarocci, Thorsteinson’s ex-wife, who lives in Tacoma. The two had been estranged for years before he went missing, but Mattarocci said she and her adult children were still involved in his life.

She told The Chronicle some members of Thorsteinson’s family think he is still alive, while others don’t hold out much hope.

“I figured by spring they’d find a body, clothing, something that would tell us what’s going on,” she said. “We really haven’t heard anything.”

Thorsteinson was last seen at about 11 a.m. Dec. 28. Search and rescue dogs tracked Thorsteinson to U.S. Highway 12, where authorities suspected he hitched a ride.

“It was a rainy day. There was snow on the ground in Morton,” Mattarocci said. “I know they did look for him but I never heard anything again.”

Chief Dan Mortensen, of the Morton Police Department, said he has few answers for the family.

“We have not had any additional leads or information or sightings or referrals or anything,” he said. “He just literally vanished and we have no idea where he may have gone.”

Mortensen said it’s very rare for a person to disappear without a trace.

“I’ve been here for a number of years and I can think of two, maybe three people who just disappeared and were last seen in the Morton area,” he said.

Thorsteinson had dementia, but was allowed to walk around town by himself. A witness reported seeing him near the White Pass Ski Area the following Monday, although the sighting was not confirmed. Another unconfirmed sighting placed him in the Portland area at a Home Depot.

A fellow resident at the assisted living facility reported Thorsteinsen wanted to travel to Nevada, but that was never confirmed either.

“We were just never able to confirm any other locations or sightings or anything,” Mortensen said.