A Franklin man with Alzheimer’s disease who was reported missing Wednesday afternoon was found hours later in a nearby vacant home.
About 5 p.m., a woman called police to report that her 59-year-old husband was missing from their home in the Countryview Estates Mobile Home Community off Hospital Road.
She told police her husband had gone outside with their dog, and then she couldn’t find him, Bargersville Fire Chief Jason Ramey said.
Police officers and firefighters began searching for the man, including using the Bargersville Fire Department’s drone to search nearby farm fields and the area around their home, Ramey said.
In total, four drones were brought in to search for the man, Franklin Police Chief Tim O’Sullivan said.
When the man had not been found after 6:30 p.m., as it was getting dark and cooler and emergency workers knew he was not dressed for the cold, they called in other departments and began going door to door looking for him, Ramey said. The man’s wife had told emergency workers her husband would not force his way into another home, but if he found an unlocked door, he might go inside, he said.
Shortly after beginning the door-to-door search, police officers found the man in a nearby vacant mobile home with his dog, Ramey said.
He was not harmed, but the mobile home did not have heat and it could have been dangerous for him overnight, Ramey said.
Ramey said he worked with the family to get them signed up for the Project Lifesaver program, which uses tracking devices to help find residents prone to wandering, such as if they have dementia or autism.
