UPDATE: State Police Use ATVs, Helicopter to Find Missing Man

A press release from the Connecticut State Police:

Thursday, at approximately 6 p. m., the Waterford Police Department was notified by family that an elderly man was missing from his Waterford home. The 83 year old man identified as Shepard K. Linscott, 83, who had left his 9th Street residence an hour earlier and failed to return.  Family members reported to authorities that he failed to return from his daily walk. They also reported that the man suffered from medical issues and had been gone for more than two hours.

After an initial search was conducted by first responders from the Waterford Police Department and Oswagatchie Fire Department, the State Police Emergency Services Unit was contacted to respond to assist in this search. State Police K-9 teams including a bloodhound responded. In addition Troop-One, the State Police helicopter, was summoned to participate in searching for the subject form the air.

Exhaustive search efforts continued in the Niantic River Road area for several hours, utilizing Trooper One’s thermal imaging device, with Troopers,  police officers and firefighters on foot utilizing ATVs and watercraft.  

At approximately 12:45 a.m., a State Police K9 team located the elderly man in a densely wooded area, a significant distance away from his residence.  Rescuers were guided through the swampy area by “NIGHT SUN” illumination from the State Police Helicopter Trooper 1 to the location where the man was found.  The man was conscious and alert.  He was carried from the woods by rescuers and taken to a local hospital for further treatment.