An elderly Clarkesville man has been found safe after disappearing from his home on GA 197 North Thursday afternoon. Searchers found Dave Humphrey shortly before 6 p.m. on Gastley Road, about a half-mile from his home.
“K9s tracked his scent and aviation saw him from the air,” says Clarkesville Police Chief Brad Barrett. “He’s in good condition; conscious, alert, talking, and seems to be okay.”
It was a happy ending to a two-and-a-half-hour search that began after Humphrey’s wife reported him missing.
“His wife last saw him sitting on their front porch. She said he would usually walk down to the park, so, she didn’t get that concerned at first,” says Barrett. Later, when she couldn’t find him, she alerted the authorities.
Safety concerns were heightened because Humphrey, who is in his mid-eighties, suffers from dementia.
Staging their search from Humphrey’s home, Clarkesville police led a multi-agency effort to find him. K9 units from Lee Arrendale State Prison and the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit assisted in the search, along with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Clarkesville Fire Department, and Tallulah Falls and Demorest personnel.
After reuniting Humphrey with his family, Chief Barrett gave a shout-out to the community for helping.
“Several people contacted us and said they had seen him earlier in the area where he was found, so, I’d like to give a thank you to the public for letting us know.”
