‘We all miss him’: Search continues for missing Fresno business owner

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The search continues Wednesday night for Fresno business owner Surinder Pal, who has been missing for over two weeks.

The 55-year-old was last seen on June 22 at his business off North Blackstone and East Dakota Avenues.

“We all miss him. His dad is missing him. His brothers and sisters are missing, nieces and nephews. Just everyone, we want him back,” his wife, Tracy Hansen, said.

Hansen and Pal have been together for 30 years. Just by having a conversation with her, one can tell how much she admires and deeply misses her husband.

“Just a caring, kind, funny man and everything you would want him to be,” she said.

She last saw Pal at their Indian restaurant and grocery store called Standard Sweets and Spices on Blackstone Avenue.

“A lot of the college kids that come from India, they come to the store because it’s delicious, fresh, homemade Indian food. And they feel like he’s a dad figure and I’m a mom figure,” Hansen said.

Pal told her he needed to run out for more supplies, but he never returned.

“When we realized that time had gone by, I said to my sister, ‘Something’s wrong’. This isn’t like Pal. And I called the police at that time because it had been like two and a half hours,” she said.

She mentioned that he wasn’t answering anyone’s calls.

It was around 1 a.m. the next morning when the Fresno Police Department found his van abandoned near the intersection of McKinley and Temperance. That’s a little over two miles away from their home in Clovis.

“It’s not the way he would normally come. He would just come straight down Ashlan,” Hansen said.

Hansen says his phone was inside his 2017 white Dodge caravan, which was locked and he was nowhere to be found.

As of Wednesday, he has been gone for 18 days. His wife pleads for the community to think back to June 22. Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary? ”

Even if you don’t think it’s relevant, call the Clovis PD non-emergency hotline number, and we need your help to get Pal back.”

She says she’s trying her best to keep the store running, but it was really Pal who was the main operator. From customers to calls, every day the community has been there to help. She thanks the Punjabi community, especially for their support.