Sunday, March 8, 2009 • 4:16 AM

MISSING 84 YEAR OLD MAN FOUND AT AIRPORT

A land and air search was conducted by Haleyville police, 30 firemen and rescue squad personnel and a helicopter early Sunday morning for a man reported missing. Suffering from Alzheimer's disease, the man was last seen around midnight at his home on County Road 54, near Babcock Lumber. Just before daylight, a ground search was conducted at both the airport and Babcock lumber.

During the time of the search, the gentleman was apparently in the vicinity of the golf course club house. Haleyville police requested an Alabama State Trooper helicopter which arrived and began a search from the air using infra red cameras that can detect body heat. The search continued until airport manager, Bryan Crumpton arrived to unlock the gas pumps for the helicopter to refuel. Bryan found the man in the lobby of the Fixed Base Operation (FBO) office wearing long johns, a flannel shirt and socks with no shoes. With the wind chill factor, temperatures were in the 50's. Other than being cold and having some scratches, the man had not been harmed in his Sunday morning outing.