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Public’s help sought in finding missing man |
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Sunday, 24 August 2008 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputies are seeking the public’s help in locating a 69-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease who wandered away from his home Friday afternoon.
Willie Young, 69, of 1665 Railroad Spur Road, was last seen about 2 p.m. Friday walking eastward on Turkey Creek Road near the Harris Road intersection, said Deputy Shank Phelps, a shift commander for the Sheriff’s Department, late Saturday afternoon.
Young, a medium-skinned black male who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, was last seen wearing a white baseball cap, a blue shirt, a blue denim jacket, blue jeans and black Nike tennis shoes, his family members told deputies.
“One of his family members and some neighbors on Turkey Creek Road were the last ones to see him,” Phelps said Saturday. “When he didn’t show up at home later that evening, they called us.”
Young’s family reported him missing about 8 p.m. Friday, Phelps said.
He has no other known medical conditions other than the Alzheimer’s disease and is in good health, Phelps said.
Family members and deputies are concerned that with the rainy weather Saturday and that forecast for today, though, that Young could become ill, Phelps said.
“We’ve put out an alert for him and have got folks out looking for him,” Phelps said. “We’re just asking anyone who sees him or may have seen him to call 911 so we can get him home.”
Young has wandered away from his home multiple times previously, but has never wandered into any of the many wooded areas around his home, which is in the Sessums area of Oktibbeha County about 4 to 5 miles southeast of Starkville, Phelps said.
“When he’s wandered off before, he’s been found in Columbus, Artesia, West Point and Starkville,” Phelps said. “His family does not believe he’s wandered into the woods. They think he likely caught a ride from someone.”
Anyone with information about Young’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department at 323-2421, emergency operators by dialing 911 or any other local law enforcement agency.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 August 2008 )
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