Missing Coosa man found in a pond in front of his house.

Emergency personnel searched for about eight hours through the night after being notified.

The body of a 68-year-old Rome man who had been missing for about eight hours was found in a pond in front of his home early Wednesday morning. Dicky Stewart suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia and was reported missing from his home at 5983 Alabama Highway just after 12:30 Wednesday morning.

A family member was able to flag down county police near Evans store at Huffaker Road and the Alabama Highway to seek additional help in their search.

Floyd County police Major Carl Lively said most of the third shift officers joined in the search along with Floyd County Sheriff’s deputies and Sheriff’s Posse members, Emergency Management personnel and fire rescue personnel. A Georgia State Patrol helicopter was called in and used heat seeking equipment as it flew a pattern within a 20-mile radius of the home but was unable to get any images. The chopper was about to come back Wednesday morning to continue the search when the body was found around 8:30 a.m.

Sgt. Chris Fincher, the public information officer for the Floyd County Police, said a K-9 unit tracked Stewart’s movements from the house down what appeared to be a small hunting path before losing the scent. Stewart’s cellphone was later found beside the pond.

EMA Director Tim Herrington said once the sun came up, someone looked into the pond and noticed what appeared to be shoes floating up on the water.

“Once we got a closer look we found it was him,” Herrington said.

The pond is less than 25 yards from the front door of the home.

The EMA chief said upwards of 40 people were participating in the search overnight in temperatures that hovered around the freezing mark.

“This is a frustration that’s different from anything else,” Fincher said. He said the department is looking at a number of ways to combat the growing number of dementia-related incidents such as Wednesday morning’s tragedy.

Floyd County Coroner Gene Proctor said they’ve sent Stewart’s body to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy.

/ Doug Walker The body of 68-year old Dicky Stewart was found in this pond directly in front of his home on Alabama Highway.

/ Doug Walker Approximately 50 people from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office posse, Floyd County police, Floyd County Emergency Management Agency and volunteers combed the area looking for 68-year-old Dicky Stewart this morning.