A Henry County man who had been missing for a month is now safe and reunited with his family after being found by an Eatonton Police Officer.
Around 10:30 p.m. On Thursday, May 22, Eatonton Police Department Officer Chad Burket observed a 2013 Nissan Rogue traveling in the wrong direction on Marion Street. Burket made a traffic stop and pulled the Nissan over in front of the Putnam County Courthouse in downtown Eatonton.
“As soon as Officer Burket made contact with the man, he realized the man had dementia,” Police Chief Howell Cardwell said.
A check of the man’s name and date of birth with the Georgia Crime Information Center revealed the 89-year-old had been reported missing. Burket called EMS, and the man was taken by ambulance to Putnam General Hospital for evaluation. His family was notified to come and pick him up.
“Burket did a good job,” Cardwell said. “He did good to recognize from his training that the man had dementia, and he probably saved some lives by stopping him from driving the wrong direction.”
Cardwell said the man’s wife was the one who reported him missing a month ago, but she died before her husband was found. The police chief said he did not know how the man had been surviving or where he’d been during the many days he’d been missing.
“I’m surprised we were the only law enforcement agency to have seen him, but his family was glad to come get him, and I’m thankful for my officers’ good work when they’re on patrol,” he said.