Indiana troopers help missing man, 85, reunite with family

Two Indiana State Police troopers helped reunite a missing 85-year-old man from Illinois with his family, a spokeswoman said.

While on patrol Tuesday, Trooper Alissa Partyka was sitting at a stoplight at Grant Street and West 11th Avenue in Gary when she “was flagged down by a motorist” in a gray car, Sgt. Ann Wojas said in a news release.

The 85-year-old man in the car asked the officer for directions, and Partyka had him pull into an empty lot, where Trooper John Landowski also arrived on scene, Wojas said.

The man appeared “extremely confused” and said “he was lost,” according to Wojas. He said he was trying to get to southwestern Michigan where a relative lived but did not have a cellphone with him or know the relative’s phone number, the release states.

“He also mentioned that he had been driving since early that morning and was running out of money,” Wojas said. The troopers ran the man’s driver’s license and realized that the 85-year-old had been reported as missing/endangered Monday through the Loves Park Police Department in Illinois, the release states.

Police contacted Loves Park police, who then got in touch with the man’s family, according to Wojas. The man was taken to the Lowell state police post “where he was later reunited with his family,” she said. His vehicle was taken “to a safe location for a family member to retrieve,” the release states.

“The family was extremely thankful and happy that their loved one had been located and returned safely to them,” Wojas said.