Missing Mahopac Man Found Safely in Joint Rescue Effort
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First responders involved in the successful rescue of a 66-year-old Mahopac man who was reported missing for five days were recognized during a Carmel Town Board meeting last week.
On July 27, Carmel Police were notified of missing man from his Myrtle Ave. residence. The individual, Roy Clayton, was last seen by his family around lunchtime when he left his home for a walk. Clayton was reported to have serious medical concerns that required daily medication that he did not have with him, nor did he have a mobile phone.
The Clayton family conducted a search of their own before calling police. After officers responded to the home, detectives with the police K9 unit and Drone Unit were deployed, with assistance from the Putnam Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Westchester County Police and Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department.
The investigation continued into the weekend with negative results as other agencies responded to search the densely wooded areas in Mahopac and Mahopac Falls.
On July 30, Carmel detectives led by Lt. Michael Bodo and Detective Sergeant Brian Forde organized a recanvassing of the residential areas surrounding Myrtle Ave. in a second attempt to locate Clayton on home security video footage. As a result, he was observed on video in the area of Rustic Rd. and Pouting Rock Rd. in Mahopac around 11 a.m. on July 27.
On July 31, the search focused on a multi-acre heavily wooded area between Pouting Rock Rd. and Carmine Dr. in Mahopac. At 2:28 p.m., Clayton was found alive and conscious in the woods behind Carmine Dr. by Trooper Patrick Porteus and State Police K9 Jet, along with Carmel Police K9 Unit Police Officer Vincent DeSantola and Carmel Police K9 Pietro.
Additional units responded to aid Clayton with Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department EMS units treating and transporting Clayton to an awaiting medevac helicopter, where he was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center.
“The Town of Carmel Police Department thanks the tremendous response, teamwork, and never ending effort of our partner first responder agencies, volunteers, and community members that participated in the successful resolution to this incident,” Bodo stated in a release.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/