Missing Bath Man Found; Hospitalized

A hospital spokesman at Akron General Medical Center said Tuesday (July 26) afternoon that Arthur Cole is currently being treated in the Akron emergency room and is in good condition. 

Cole, 81, was found in a heavily wooded area about one block from his family home on North Hametown Road in Bath Township. According to , was found after neighbors called emergency services to investigate a cry for help. 

Bath Sgt. Kevin Moats said the area was thickly wooded and wet, with vegetation 6' fo 8' high. Moates said Cole was found approximately 1,000 feet from his house on Hametown Road. "We're amazed he even got back there," he said.

Moates said Cole was coherent and talked with rescuers when found. He said he could not describe the man's injuries.

Moates said that the area around Cole's family home on Hametown Road was exhaustively searched on Sunday, but he could not say whether the specific area where the man was found was searched at that time.

Officers from Bath Township, Copley, Fairlawn, Granger Township and the Ohio Highway Patrol searched the area around Hametown Road with a helicopter and canines. The multi-agency search was called off early Sunday evening.

Chief Michael McNeely said earlier in the week that police on duty continued the search, and the department yesterday appealed to neighbors to search their own property, barns and outbuildings.

The elderly man was reported missing by his wife Sunday morning after neighbors last saw him in the back yard. Cole has been been diagnosed with dementia.

Cole has wandered off frequently in the past, and has been known to hitchhike. Statewide and national alerts were issued for the missing man. Police also searched his old neighborhood in Akron yesterday when reports of sightings came in.

Note: The multi-agency search for Cole ended Sunday; a previous version of this story was incorrect.