CLAY TWP. — UPDATE @ 3:37 a.m.:
A missing man with dementia was found three hours after leaving his home, according to Sgt. Haywood McDaniel of the Clay Twp. Police Department.
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McDaniel said that around midnight, the senior citizen wandered out of his house carrying a couple kitchen items. He was not dressed for the weather.
Searchers became more concerned after first finding the man’s shoes, which McDaniel described as house slippers. The sergeant said the man appeared to have stumbled out of them.
The man was eventually found after a Brookville officer went down a driveway in the area and saw someone come from around the house. Though originally the officer thought this was the homeowner, the officer realized that this was the missing person.
Searchers commented that the man was wet from the knees down.
“You could definitely tell that he fell through the ice in a couple places,” McDaniel said, adding that he suffered some bumps and bruises from falling. Our crew on the scene reported that there were many patches of ice in the area.
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Otherwise, McDaniel said, the man was cold, and was taken to the hospital to be checked out.
Speaking of the search in general, the sergeant said, “He stayed in the area, which is good, since we are surrounded by a bunch of fields. That would have made it very difficult to find him had this progressed any further.”
INITIAL REPORT:
We are hearing reports of a search underway and police activity in the area of state Route 49 and Blank Road in Clay Twp.
Initial reports said that law enforcement was looking for a missing person.
We are working to learn more and will update this story with any new information.