🚨 JAMES BALLANTYNE SEARCH ENTERS FOURTH DAY — TOP COP REVEALS “SERIOUS CONCERNS” AS URGENT HUNT FOR MISSING MAN WITH DEMENTIA CONTINUES
James Ballantyne, who is 87 and has dementia, has not been seen since he went for a walk on Saturday.
Rescue teams are looking “everywhere we can” in the rural search for an 87-year-old man missing for more than three nights.
There are “serious concerns” for James Ballantyne who vanished while on a walk in Wagin, two-and-a-half hours southeast of Perth, on Saturday morning.
Drones and tracker dogs have been put to work on Tuesday as search teams turn the town and its surrounds over to deliver a family and community the news they desperately want.
Ballantyne lives with dementia and authorities say he may be confused and unable to find his way home.
Wagin locals, who told 7NEWS “it’s pretty cold here at night”, have been urged to check backyards, sheds, paddocks and vehicles, where he may have sought shelter.
The alarm was raised when Ballantyne failed to return home from his weekend stroll.
The last known sighting of him was on Leonora St about 10.30am Saturday.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said police, specialist officers, SES units and the community are “searching everywhere we can”.
“We’re just hoping for a good result but we have serious concerns at this time,” Blanch told 6PR on Tuesday, as the search stretched beyond 72 hours.
Great Southern Police Acting Inspector Craig Wasley revealed Monday that a pilot had used his own plane to help find the missing man.
“Members of the public have been just fantastic,” Wasley said.
One Wagin local described “Jim” as a “lovely” person who used to walk by his place three or four times a week.
“That’s the sort of town it is,” he told 7NEWS.
“You get to know the people and they all say g’day and you have a small conversation and carry on.”
Ballantyne is 183cm tall with a medium build and short, greying hair.
WA Police have encouraged the community to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for Ballantyne as they travel through and around the region.
Anyone with information should call police on 131 444.
The ongoing search comes amid positive news for the family of Victorian man John Bakkum.
The 85-year-old mysteriously vanished after leaving a pub on Sunday evening and was found Tuesday morning down an embankment.
Bakkum was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
SOURCE: https://7news.com.au/news/james-ballantyne-search-for-man-living-with-dementia-enters-fourth-day-as-top-cop-reveals-serious-concerns-c-22775189