RALEIGH, N.C. _ Samuel Claude Gilbert walked out of his Raleigh home three months ago, and his family hasn't heard from him since.
Gilbert, 46, was last seen about 10 p.m. Oct. 23, when he left his home near Crabtree Valley Mall while his two teenage sons were in bed, according to Raleigh police and his family. He left behind his wallet, keys and Chevrolet Tahoe.
Police are investigating, and Gilbert's mother, Tina Hough, said she is desperate to find her son.
Surveillance cameras at Gilbert's apartment building in the 3900 block of Fairstead Drive captured images of him with his cellphone that night, Hough said.
"The video shows him going out the front door and he was walking onto Fairstead Drive and going toward Crabtree Valley Mall," Hough told The News & Observer on Thursday. "He was walking down the hill in the direction of the mall."
The next day, just after 8:30 a.m., Gilbert's ex-wife called authorities, according to an incident report by the Raleigh Police Department.
Hough said she and other volunteers helped police search for her son in a heavily wooded area the week he disappeared. Officers have used search dogs, she said, and last week a search team used boats on Crabtree Creek.
She is trying to stay hopeful, Hough said, but she's fearing the worst.
"It's so overgrown, he could be anywhere," Hough said of the wooded area. "I want to return and look for him with cadaver dogs, because I really do believe he's somewhere in that area."
Gilbert worked as a senior operations manager with the Association of International Certified Public Accountants in Durham. He often traveled for work, his mother said.
Hough described her son as a star student and athlete at Country Day High School in Charlotte, where he grew up. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1994 and moved to Raleigh about 14 years ago.
"He is measured," his mother said. "He listens very carefully. Once he's gathered what you're talking about, he has some good ideas to share. He's never contentious. He's easy-going and very competitive."
Hough said she last spoke with her son two days before he disappeared.
"I was just checking in on him," she said. "He was divorced in May, so I was checking in with him to see how he was doing. He was in good spirits."
Gilbert was looking forward to working as an assistant baseball coach at Daniels Middle School in Raleigh, Hough said.
Sarah Gilbert, his ex-wife, described him as a good father and a physical fitness buff. She said he was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a blue Atlanta Braves baseball hat.
Samuel Gilbert stands about 6 feet tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He has graying hair and blue eyes.
