ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI — A 81-year-old Allegan County man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s was found safe Tuesday night after deputies searched for him following a report that he had driven away in a family member’s vehicle.
The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office said Paul Wayne Hardin was last seen by family at 1:50 p.m. when he left in a black Honda Pilot with Michigan registration 4PAY50. Deputies were called shortly after 2 p.m. to the area of Lilly Court and 140th Avenue in Salem Township on a report of a missing and endangered person.
Just after 9:15 p.m., deputies said Hardin had been located in Grand Haven and returned to his family.
Deputies said Hardin may have been heading toward West Olive or Kenosha
Before he was found, investigators said Hardin may have been traveling toward West Olive, Michigan, or Kenosha, Wisconsin. The sheriff’s office did not say why those locations were possible destinations, only that they were part of the search information shared with the public.
Hardin was reported missing after family members said he drove off in the SUV and did not stay at the Salem Township location. Because of his condition, deputies treated the case as a missing and endangered person call.
Law enforcement asked anyone who saw him to contact Allegan County Central Dispatch at 269-673-3899.
What Hardin was wearing during the search
Deputies released a description to help people identify him if he was seen in public. Hardin was last reported wearing a white and gray shirt, blue jeans and a welding cap.
The sheriff’s office also said he has an approximately half-inch-long white beard. Those details were part of the bulletin circulated while the search was underway.
Officials relied on that clothing and physical description as well as the vehicle information to track possible sightings. The black Honda Pilot carried the Michigan plate 4PAY50.
How the search ended in Grand Haven
By late Tuesday evening, the sheriff’s office said Hardin had been found in the City of Grand Haven. Deputies said he was returned home to his family after being located there.
The update came a little more than seven hours after family members first said they had seen him drive away. No information was immediately released about how Hardin got to Grand Haven or whether anyone else was involved.
The case ended with a safe recovery, closing out the missing-person search that began in southwest Allegan County earlier in the day.
From the Twin Cities to the border and back, Travel Your Way keeps Minnesota informed.