Paris Police responded Thursday to a report of an Alzheimer’s patient missing from a local health care center.
After the report about noon in the 600 block of DeShong Avenue, police officers and health care staff first checked the health care center. Not finding the man, they began an outside search.
“Other officers were brought in, and a CodeRED message was sent out with the description of the missing man,” police chief Bob Hundley said.
“Lots of leads came in from people who had seen a similarly described individual walking east on the Northeast Loop. There was another report that he might have been at a local restaurant at the intersection of Northeast Loop 286 and North Collegiate.”
With these leads being checked on, personnel at the health care facility informed officers that the medical condition of the man probably would not have allowed him to walk that far.
“Officers were brought back to the area of the nursing home and started a second search of the facility and adjoining areas,” Hundley said.
With no new information coming in and the arrival of the cold front, it was decided to request additional manpower for a third search of the facility and surrounding area.
Paris Fire and Rescue personnel were assigned the interior of the facility for the third search and found a door to an electrical closet locked.
“Getting the door open revealed the patient in this small space. The patient was okay with no additional problems,” the police chief said.
The police department sent out an additional CodeRED message cancelling the missing person.
“The department appreciates the many leads that did come in on this potentially life-threatening event for this patient,” Hundley said.
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Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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