More than two weeks have gone by since anyone who knows Boulder architect Greg Franta has seen him - at least in person.

His larger-than-life image now looks out from a digital billboard in south Denver alongside the bright yellow words "Missing Person."

So far, that's what police consider Franta to be.

Franta, 58, had dinner with a daughter on

Feb. 8 - a Sunday night - then failed to show up for work the next morning.

"At this point, we're still treating it as missing persons case. We don't have any evidence that foul play has occurred," Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said Wednesday.

"He had a close friend pass away fairly recently, so as I understand it, he was feeling the effects from that," Huntley said.

"In most cases, that in and of itself wouldn't cause somebody to leave," Huntley added.

"But it's the only indication we had he was having a difficult time recently," she said.

Franta's daughter told police that everything seemed fine during their dinner at a Cherry Creek restaurant.

Franta took money from his account that Sunday and attempted to retrieve more, Huntley said.

His ATM card was used again on the Monday he disappeared but hasn't been used since, she said.

A business surveillance camera caught Franta getting into his car in the 6700 block of Federal Boulevard at 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 9 and heading south into Denver.

His 2006 white Honda Civic, which has a bright orange or yellow sticker on the back with the words hybrid electric, hasn't been seen since, Huntley said.

"The options we're exploring are one, he voluntarily has chosen to take a break from his life; two, he's the victim of a crime; or three, he's somehow involved in a crime," she said.

"At this point, we have no evidence at all of categories two or three. We're continuing to work with his family and friends to explore option one," Huntley said.

Franta, a former Colorado Architect of the Year, is a pioneer in environmentally sustainable architecture around the world, according to the Web site of the Rocky Mountain Institute, where he is a vice president.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising posted Franta's picture on a billboard at Interstate 25 and Colorado Boulevard, a spot it uses for free public service announcements.

It hasn't generated any tips.

But Vice President and General Manager Frank Bullock said the company has had great success with similar efforts on its 1,000 digital billboards nationwide.

"We don't like the bad news," he said. "But we love the opportunity to help."

ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com