MARIETTA, Ga. - A happy ending to a major search for an elderly man with dementia. Seventy-one-year-old Cartha Speed had wandered away from an assisted living facility a little after noon on Tuesday.
Police used drones, dogs and helicopters to search for him.
"You have K-9 officers, you have multiple drone operators in the area, multiple search teams made up of first responders doing grid searches in the area," said Marietta Police Officer Chuck McPhilamy.
Marietta Police searched for hours for the 71-year-old. Speed is a resident at the Marietta Center for Nursing and Healing on Kennesaw Avenue.
"Unfortunately, somehow he managed to wander out of that facility," said Officer McPhilamy.
Officials at the facility noticed he was missing around 2 p.m. They checked their video system and saw that he had walked out alone around 12:15 p.m. He did not have a phone or money with him, and he has several health issues.
"He is suffering from early stages of dementia, he has hypertension and anxiety," said Officer McPhilamy.
In a statement from the facility, officials said as soon as they were aware he was missing, they notified local authorities and activated an organized search plan. In addition to working with law enforcement, they said additional staff resources were allocated to assist in the search.
More than five hours later, an officer found Speed walking near Delk Road, several miles from the facility.
"I'm really happy he's safe and grateful for all the authorities and all the help. had a lot of friends and family and people in the community came together to help," said Amedia Murphy, Speed's daughter.