- May 5, 2024
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by: Aviva Edrich
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded to an endangered missing person call at about 2 a.m. Aug. 14 in the area of Coconut Court in Palm Coast. It was learned that an elderly endangered male had wandered from his residence and was last seen by his wife hours earlier before she went to bed.
The back door to the residence was found unsecure, and the couple’s vehicle was still parked in the driveway.
Deputies quickly began searching the neighborhood, including the saltwater canal behind the couple’s residence. The on-duty Watch Commander determined additional resources were needed and contact was made with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office to request their “Air One” helicopter along with FCSO K-9 Holmes and the Marine Unit to respond to assist in the search.
Deputies were canvasing the neighborhood and making contact with neighbors in the immediate area with surveillance cameras in attempt to develop a direction of travel for the missing male. Deputies also asked neighbors to keep a watchful eye on their properties for the missing male and to contact the FCSO immediately if the male was seen.
A short time later, one of the neighbors that Deputies had woken up and made contact with, advised they discovered the male in their backyard near the canal. Deputies immediately responded to the location and found the missing male, who was clearly exhausted and in distress, holding on to the outside of the chain-link fence bordering the canal, and was dangling over the water.
Deputies rescued the male from the water’s edge and provided him a place to sit while waiting on Fire/Rescue to arrive to check on the male’s overall physical well-being. The male was extremely weak and could barely walk, even with assistance from Deputies. VCSO’s Air One was cancelled before the helicopter arrived. If the male had not been found quickly, it is likely he would have not been able to hold on to the fence much longer and would have fallen into the saltwater canal. Given the male’s weakened state, it is likely the male would not have been able to free himself from the water unassisted.
“The compassion our deputies showed while rescuing this man without injury is commendable and a great example of how our team serves the community every day,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “The community coming together to help search for a missing person in the middle of the night is a great reminder of just how great Flagler County is and probably saved his life. I thank and commend everyone involved.”
The male was cleared by EMS and returned to his spouse at their residence. The FCSO will be following up with the male’s family to go over services available to help prevent this incident from happening again.
