Family fears Ga. Lyft driver is dead after agreeing to drive passenger 400 miles to Jacksonville

ATLANTA, Ga. — WSBTV in Atlanta has reported that the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Lyft driver who vanished after he was hired to drive someone to Jacksonville.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Now, his family fears he may be dead.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

According to WSBTV, deputies said Leonard John Beiner, 57, was in the Ball Ground area of Cherokee County on July 18. He worked part-time as a Lyft driver and was scheduled to drive a customer back to Jacksonville. His family has not been able to reach him since.

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims said he learned that Beiner checked himself into Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta on July 22 and walked out the next day. That’s the last time he was seen. It’s possible that his Hyundai Santa Fe may have been towed from the hospital but that hasn’t been confirmed.

“The first few days, I tried calling him,” Beiner’s stepson, Jhaydon Ragsdale, who last say his step-father on July 18, said.

WSBTV said Capt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office declined to speak on camera and said it’s took early in the investigation. The family just filed the missing report on Monday.

Ragsdale mentioned that Beiner has been recovering from drug addiction and sometimes isolated himself.

“It’s not normal for him to avoid contact with people while he’s relapsing,” Ragsdale said. “What became a concern is the week after when his phone went to the operator line and he now longer on social media.”

Beiner is described as 5′7″ and 225 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair. He walks with a cane. His Hyundai Santa Fe is blue with a Florida license plate.

Anyone who has seen him is asked to contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Ball Ground in Georgia is about a 6 1/2-hour drive to Jacksonville.

This story was originally reported by WSBTV.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.