Wellton man who wandered away from home found
The Yuma County Sheriff's Office has located a missing 82-year-old Wellton man who walked away from his residence Thursday morning. He was found unharmed after a seven-hour search and returned to his home.
According to Capt. Eben Bratcher, at about 1:30 on Thursday, YCSO received a report of a missing man in the area of the Gila Mountains north of Ligurta Station. He said a woman stated that her husband, Jessie York, 82, had walked away from their residence and had not been seen since 10 a.m. that morning.
Units from the Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue, Wellton Border Patrol, Wellton BORSTAR Units, a helicopter from Border Patrol Air and Marine Division along with K-9 units from the Arizona Department of Corrections began searching the surrounding area.
Wellton BORSTAR units from the Yuma Sector Border Patrol found York at approximately 10:30 p.m. in the mountainous area northwest of the residence. He was brought down off the mountain and transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Tri-Valley Ambulance for treatment.
“He didn't make it very far,” Bratcher said. “He was found less than a mile from his home.”
Bratcher expressed his thanks to all the agencies that participated in the search, saying it was because of their efforts that York was reunited with his family.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.
