The family of an Isle of Wight man who went missing last night (Tuesday) have thanked Isle of Wight Radio listeners and Facebook followers who helped track him down.
The alarm was raised after Denis Steel, who suffers from Dementia, went missing from his home in Freshwater.
A large scale search and rescue operation, including officers, police helicopter and WightSAR, was launched at around 6pm to find the 79 year old.
An appeal to trace Mr Steel was shared widely on social media and on Isle of Wight Radio, with the search area focusing on Newport.
Thankfully, he was located safe and well after managing to get more than 10 miles from his home at Brambles Chine to Newport - on a bus.
Speaking exclusively to Isle of Wight Radio, Mr Steel's son, Andrew, has thanked Islanders for their incredible support.
"My dad suffers from advanced dementia and he went out last night. After an hour of him being out, we started becoming very concerned and called the police. They started searching the area with WightSAR. It was very worrying because it is quite a remote area and there are cliffs.
"My sister then suggested we put something on Facebook - and the reaction was phenomenal. We had thousands of shares from people who wanted to help. We had people messaging me and knocking on our door wanting to help find him. It was unbelievable.
"We then had contact through Facebook from someone who said they think dad had knocked on the door of a home in Newport. That meant the search rapidly moved from Freshwater."
Fortunately, four hours after being reported missing, Mr Steel was found safe and well. He was checked over at St Mary's Hospital, before being allowed home in the early hours of this morning.
Andrew continued:
"Somehow, dad had walked to a bus route and convince the driver to let him on. Somebody then recognised him from the Facebook post when he got to Newport.
"The effort from people was just incredible. I just cannot thank people enough. The fact the Isle of Wight came out to help search and share the posts on Facebook means so much to us. It means dad is now home and safe - I am forever thankful.
"Even since he was found, I've been inundated with messages from people who heard about it on Isle of Wight Radio and saw the Facebook posts.
"Thank you so much to the incredible people on the Isle of Wight."
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