More than two weeks since David Kaiser was reported missing, authorities in Montana said that they have spoken with the co-founder of a once-flourishing Twin Cities-based video store chain and that he is safe.
Kaiser, 53, had been the subject of a missing-person search in his adopted state of Montana since late last month. Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said Kaiser and his office were in touch on Monday.
Kaiser, 53, was last seen June 28 in west-central Montana. He had opened Triple Peaks Cafe in Victor, Mont., with a partner just two days earlier, his family in Minnesota said. He was reported missing June 29, after he failed to show up that morning at the cafe, his family added.
Cafe co-owner Oscar Insua said Wednesday that Kaiser "just kind of showed up out of the blue" from his mysterious time away.
Insua said Kaiser has yet to explain to him where he was. "He said he'll tell me in his own good time," Insua added.
Kaiser lives in an apartment behind the cafe and was not immediately available to come to the phone, the business partner said.
The Sheriff's Office said it also wants to learn more about where Kaiser has been, given that deputies and others spent more than two weeks trying to locate him.
Kaiser moved from his lifelong hometown of Edina four years ago, about the time he divorced, and ran for the U.S. House in Montana in 2012 as a Libertarian Party candidate.
