Man with health issues reported missing from Grand Haven found safe in Chicago, police say
A 77-year-old Grand Haven man who vanished from a Muskegon hospital more than a week ago has been found in Chicago, ending an interstate search for a vulnerable senior missing without his medications or his walker.
OTTAWA COUNTY — A 77-year-old Grand Haven man who vanished from a Muskegon hospital more than a week ago has been found in Chicago, ending an interstate search for a vulnerable senior missing without his medications or his walker.
Dennis King was located Tuesday and was receiving medical care at a Chicago-area facility. Investigators with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office are coordinating with the Chicago Police Department to arrange his return to Michigan.
As of Thursday, July 23, it wasn’t immediately clear how or why King ended up in Chicago or whether he made the trip alone.
Authorities have said King walked away from Trinity Health Hospital in Muskegon around 4:30 p.m. July 13, shortly after being admitted. He left behind the walker he relies on to move around. He had no mobile phone, did not know how to use one, and had no acquaintances in the area, according to previous information from the sheriff’s office.
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His daughter reported him missing three days later, on July 16. King had only recently moved to Grand Haven and was unfamiliar with the region, prompting additional concern about his whereabouts.
Because King suffers from dementia and relies on daily medications he did not have with him, authorities immediately categorized him as endangered.
Detective units in Ottawa County, assisted by the Muskegon Police Department, tracked leads across state lines before locating him nearly 180 miles away.
— Heather VanDyke covers northern Ottawa County for the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at hvandyke@ottawanewsnetwork.org.
