Police in Maple Ridge suspended the search for a missing senior with dementia on Friday, a day that saw two other elderly men get reunited with their families.
Ridge Meadows RCMP and Search and Rescue spend the day searching for 72-year-old Tjeerd (Ted) Vanderveen, who left his residence in the 26500 block of 112 Avenue Thursday morning for a walk in the Ferguson Trails area.
“At this point, RCMP have suspended the search, we are pulling all of our teams in and just going over all of our data,” said Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue search manager Rick Laing.
Despite knowing the trail system well, Vanderveen did not return home, police say, prompting concern from his family.
Vanderveen is described as a Caucasian man with a slim build and short grey hair. He was last seen wearing a turquoise coat, jeans, black boots, an orange toque and black gloves. RCMP say he responds to the name Ted.
RCMP were searching the Ferguson Trails Friday morning along with a canine unit, helicopter surveillance, and Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue.
In the hours following Vanderveen’s disappearance, police in Surrey and Vancouver put out their own alerts about missing seniors — both of whom were located Friday morning.
Surrey RCMP said they have located 70-year-old Arpad (R.P.) Sator, who had been missing since 4 p.m. Thursday.
An hour after Sator was found, Vancouver police announced 87-year-old Seaton Faria had also been located.
Faria, who also suffers from dementia, had been reported missing earlier Friday morning after leaving his care home on the city’s west side just before midnight and did not return.
Police ramped up their search for Vanderveen as cold weather plummets in the region, with temperatures reaching minus 4 degrees Celsius overnight.
Anyone who sees Vanderveen is asked to call police immediately and stay with the man until officers arrive.
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