Family hunt for missing man

Concerns are growing for a Hamilton great-grandfather who disappeared from his house almost two days ago.

Raymond Stirling was last seen at his Halcione Close home in Flagstaff around 8pm on Monday. The 84-year-old suffers from mild dementia and is of frail walking ability.

He relies on a walking stick that is believed to be the only possession he has with him.

It’s not clear exactly when the father of five left the house where he lives alone, his daughter Julie Caddigan said, but he was found to be missing on Tuesday morning.

‘‘He is quite fragile and doesn’t walk that far. He’s gone for walks in the past but never to this extent, he’s always made his way home.’’

Family dropped him home on Monday afternoon after a family holiday at Cooks Beach.

Help services were due at Stirling’s home on Tuesday morning when it was discovered he was missing, Caddigan said.

‘‘He could have got up in the middle of the night and gone.’’

Caddigan said her father often gets confused and goes out looking for work in his previous profession as a butcher. He once wandered to the Pukete Bridge where he was picked up and taken into town.

‘‘He goes to supermarkets and butchers looking for work.’’

Stirling is of slim and frail build and likely wearing white sneakers with red stripes down the sides, navy blue track pants and is not wearing his hearing aids. He also has a wound on the right side of his head from a recent operation.

‘‘He hasn’t put his hearing aids in so he may not be able to hear properly and may seem a bit disorientated. He didn’t take his walker either, but may have taken his walking stick.’’

He was likely to be on foot and may be hitchhiking.

‘‘We think he is somewhere close to home or he has caught a bus which then opens up all sorts of possibilities.’’

If anyone has seen Stirling call Hamilton police on 07 858 6200.