An 82-year-old was stuck in the mud for several hours on Thursday afternoon. Police patrols and helicopters, more than 40 firefighters and the Red Cross dog unit searched for him in the thicket. For a long time without success, before Jason Tevnan accidentally came across the missing person. He was so hypothermic that he no longer showed up on the thermal imaging camera of the fire brigade.
“It was pure luck that we found the missing person early. If I hadn’t gotten lost myself, I would never have found the man,” says Jason Tevnan.
Daily walks
So far, the 82-year-old resident of the Obernberg retirement home has gone for walks every day. Always the same route, from Obernberg to Reichersberg. However, when he did not return home on Thursday, the nursing staff raised the alarm. Police searched the man’s favorite route without finding him. A large-scale search operation was launched. “Together with the Braunauer dog squadron, we divided up the very confusing area,” says Tevnan. Born in America, he has lived in Austria since he was 15. He and his dog Nox are currently completing the Red Cross’s search dog training. On Thursday, the 39-year-old was on the road as a helper without a dog. After a short time he had lost sight of the other members of the dog unit.
“I was looking around with my headlamp, looking for a GPS signal, when I suddenly saw a silhouette in front of me. It was like something out of a scary movie.” The 82-year-old sat on the ground in front of him. and barely responded to Tevnan’s calls.
“The man was quite confused. He said I should leave him alone. He belongs here,” says Tevnan, who alerted the police and fire department. When the senior recognized the officers who had taken him home before, he sat up and wanted to go with them. Tevnan stayed at the senior’s side until the ambulance. After an examination, he was allowed to return to the retirement home.
Source: Nachrichten
