Police save elderly man collapsed in the woods

Nov 5, 2020

Dartmouth police rescued a 94-year-old man who was found collapsed in the woods in near-freezing temperatures after his family reported him missing on Nov. 2, according to a press release from the department.

Police responded to a call from an Emerald Drive home at around 4:40 p.m. on Monday.

The elderly man had been missing since around 1 p.m., and suffered from a medical condition leaving him dependent on supplemental oxygen. Temperatures that day hovered around 37 degrees.

According to the release, police placed a reverse 9-1-1 call and requested help from a Dartmouth Police K-9 unit, the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, and the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Search and Rescue team.

Officers Christopher Sniger and Jorge Silva found the man at around 5:20 p.m. lying on the ground in a wooded area about a quarter of a mile from the house.

Emergency medical personnel assessed the man at the scene and took him to the hospital for further evaluation.

Police Chief Brian Levesque commented, “This is the perfect example of how teamwork and training all came together flawlessly. I could not be more proud of the members of this department who, in all likelihood, saved this gentleman’s life.”