Gwinnett County police officers rescued a missing elderly man from a Buford-area creek off of the interstate on August 21.
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, the family of a 77-year-old man from Snellville was reported as missing. Family members told police they found the elderly man’s car was missing and that he was possibly suffering from a mental health issue.
The police department began checking traffic cameras in the county and were able to spot his Chrysler Pacifica on the side of Interstate I-85 Northbound in Buford. An initial search of the area was conducted on August 20 but officers were unable to locate him. Detectives were contacted and a Maddie’s Call was issued for him.
The next morning, a more thorough search of the area where his car was found along the interstate was conducted by officers from the North Precinct.
The Gwinnett Police Department said in a written statement, “While searching the wood line along the interstate, Sgt. Brett Shirley called out for the male and heard a response. Sgt. Shirley, Lt. John Cleland, and Cpl. Andrew Palmer climbed down to the area where they heard the male’s voice and found him lying in a creek.”
Body camera footage from one of the rescuing officers showed the elderly man lying on his back partially submerged in the creek water. In the video, officers could be heard telling the man that the fire department was on their way and that they would get him to a hospital to get him warmed up. The man was visibly shaking from lying in the cold water for hours.
Officers at the scene speculated that the man could have ended up in the creek after hitting a guard rail on the side of I-85, getting out of his car and wandering into the woods where he fell into the creek.
The elderly man was transported to a local hospital.
