State Patrol Finds Alzheimer Patient

Minnesota State Patrol located an elderly Alzheimer patient, last night, who had walked away from an assisted care facility about three miles southeast of Park Rapids. The patient had been missing about three hours when located by troopers using the thermal imager unit on a State Patrol airplane. The patient was spotted about a half mile south of a residence in a wooded area. Troopers directed rescuers the air. The patient was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Lt. Matt Langer said, "The likelihood of the patient surviving the night because of low temperatures would have been slim." The State Patrol is routinely requested to search for missing persons and often uses the thermal imaging system on the airship.