Bath Man Still Missing

July 25, UPDATE -- Bath Police ask residents to check their properties, barnes and outbuilding for missing elderly man, Arthur Cole. Police followed up leads in Akron but have not found the man.

July 25 -- Bath Township officers continue their search today for a missing elderly man with memory problems.

Bath Police Chief Michael McNeely said this morning that the multi-agency search for Arthur Cole, 81, of Bath Township has been discontinued. However officers on duty will continue to search and statewide and national alerts have been issued for the missing man.

"We believe he just wandered away due to his mental state," McNeely said. "He has wandered away in past and we have found him relatively quickly. Neighbors saw him in the back yard with the Sunday paper early in the morning."

According to Capt. Greg Lang, Cole has been known to hitchhike in the past. "People usually realized pretty quickly that he has memory problems, and have called us. Some people have even taken him home."

Officers from Copley, Bath, Fairlawn and Granger Township searched until about 7 p.m. last night with help from the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Cole was last seen by a neighbor at about 8 a.m. Sunday in front of family home on Hametown Road. 

He was living at Arden Courts of Bath, a facility for patients with memory impairments, since January. According to police, Cole has alzheimer's and was home for the weekend.

Cole is 5'5", 170 lbs, with gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing red sweat pants, a white shirt, and tennis shoes. He has missing since 8 a.m. Sunday (July 24).

National and statewide alerts have been issued for Cole.

Please call  at 330-666-3736 if you see anyone matching this description, or your own local police department.