Elderly League City man is still missing

An 82-year-old League City man who made headlines three years ago by incapacitating a burglar with a karate chop was still missing Tuesday evening, more than three days after he disappeared near his home.

League City police and Equusearch said Ervin Brittnacher, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, was reported missing Friday afternoon by family. He was last known to be in the 3000 block of McFarland Road, where he lived, said Officer Reagan Pena of the League City Police Department.

Pena said police and Equusearch volunteers combed more than 24 acres of land near that location over the weekend with no luck. She said authorities are trying to determine what other areas to search.

Brittnacher made headlines in 2012 when a burglar with a .223-caliber Ruger Mini-14 rifle tried to enter his home. Brittnacher incapacitated the man by striking him in the throat with a “karate chop,” investigators said at the time.

He had ordered the man to sit down while he waited for police to arrive.

“He’s tough, apparently,” said Jack Boggess, a search coordinator for Texas Equusearch.

Boggess said more than two dozen volunteers had searched mostly within a mile radius of his home Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also used ATVs and a drone.

“Right now we’re standing down to wait until we get some clues,” Boggess said.

Brittnacher is about 6 feet tall with gray hair, a gray beard and moustache, and brown eyes, according to the police statement. He is about 165 pounds and has a scar on his upper left arm.

He was last seen wearing a red plaid shirt and tan pants with red and white shoes, according to the statement.

Boggess said Brittnacher would have trouble walking because he is missing toes on one foot.

Anyone with information about Brittnacher’s whereabouts should call League City police at 281332-2566.