Search ends for missing man at bottom of 20-foot ravine, South Carolina sheriff says
The search for a missing South Carolina man came to an end Monday when he was found at the bottom of a 20-foot ravine in the woods, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.
After being discovered by a deputy, the 83-year-old man with a heart condition was taken to an area hospital for treatment is expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The search began at about 11 a.m., when the man’s daughter called the sheriff’s office and said her father was missing, according to the release. She told deputies that she had last seen her father Sunday at about 9 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
A deputy responded to the man’s Lake Monticello area home and found several concerning signs, according to the release. The man’s front door was open, his hat was in the yard and a piece of clothing was discovered at the edge of the woods, the sheriff’s office said.
A perimeter was quickly set up, and investigators, along with the sheriff’s office K9 units, were called to assist in the search, according to the release.
The sheriff’s office said it moved with urgency because temperatures in the area had dropped into the mid-20s overnight and only reached around 40 degrees Monday morning.
As the K9 team searched the area, members of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division tracked the missing man’s cellphone, while additional K9 units and drones from the Chester County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the rescue mission, according to the release.
After about an hour of searching, a breakthrough came when one of the K9 officers spotted a figure at the bottom of a 20-foot ravine, the sheriff’s office said. The officer descended into the ravine and confirmed it was the missing man who was alive, but weak, according to the release.
A deputy then carried the man out of the woods before he was taken to an area hospital for treatment, the sheriff’s office said.
It’s not known how long the man was in the woods, and information about why he left his home and ended up at the bottom of the ravine was not available.
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