Longtime San Francisco journalist Ray Taliaferro missing in Kentucky

A longtime Bay Area journalist and radio host last seen near a pizza parlor in Kentucky has been missing for two weeks, according to media reports. A longtime Bay Area journalist and radio host last seen near a pizza parlor in Kentucky has been missing for two weeks, according to media reports. Photo: Sarah Adler Photo: Sarah Adler Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Longtime San Francisco journalist Ray Taliaferro missing in Kentucky 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

A longtime Bay Area journalist and radio host last seen near a pizza parlor in Kentucky has been missing for two weeks, according to media reports.

Raphael “Ray” Taliaferro, who was a journalist and news anchor for San Francisco’s KGO-AM radio and KRON-TV, was last seen near a pizza parlor called “Mellow Mushroom” in Paducah, Kentucky, on Nov. 10, according to media reports.

A missing person’s flier posted by the Paducah Police Department stated he may have been experiencing “disorientation and signs of dementia,” according to a KRON 4 report.

Sheriff Ted Holder of the Massac County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois told The Chronicle that Taliaferro’s wife reported him missing around 9:30 a.m. in Massac County on Nov. 10. Around six hours later, witnesses told officials they saw him in Paducah, Kentucky, roughly 20 miles away, just over the state border.

Taliaferro’s vehicle was found in the parking lot of a bank in Paducah, Holder said. “Several people” told Paducah police they spoke with him that afternoon, but no one has seen him since, he said.

Holden said police have reached out to the Paducah chapter of the NAACP just in case Taliaferro calls association officials.

Officials with the Paducah Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment regarding Taliaferro’s disappearance.

Taliaferro helped found the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975 and was honored with the Black Chamber Life Award by the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce in 1994, according to the National Association of Black Journalists.

The 1994 award recognized him as a “forerunner in broadcasting.”

The association inducted Taliaferro into its hall of fame in January 2011. The association created the “Ray Taliaferro NABJ Entrepreneurial Spirit Award” in his honor to recognize “journalistic entrepreneurship” among members of the association.

Anyone with information about Taliaferro’s whereabouts can contact the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8548.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor