Family raises fears after Ga. Lyft driver vanished, agreeing to drive passenger nearly 400 miles

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Lyft driver who vanished after he was hired to drive someone to Florida.

Now, his family fears that he may be dead.

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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, Florida. His family has not been able to reach him since. It’s unclear if he ever picked up the passenger.

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was at the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday, where 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. His vehicle, a Hyundai Santa Fe, may have been towed from the hospital.

Mims talked to Beiner’s stepson, Jhaydon Ragsdale, who said the last time he talked to his step-father was on July 18.

“The first few days, I tried calling him,” Ragsdale said. “The phone rang and a few days after that it went straight to the operator line.”

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Mims asked if Ragsdale knew of anyone who may want to hurt Beiner.

“No. He doesn’t have any money. Why would anyone want to kill him?” Ragsdale said.

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

Ragsdale said that Beiner has gone off on his own before, which is why they didn’t report it sooner. He’s been recovering from drug addiction and sometimes isolates himself.

“It’s not abnormal 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 was no longer on social media.”

Deputies believe he was driving a blue Hyundai Sante Fe with a Florida license plate.

Beiner is described as 5′7″ and 225 pounds with blue eyes and gray hair. He walks with a cane.

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

Jacksonville, Florida is about 6 ½ hours from Ball Ground, Georgia.

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