A 61-year-old man who suffers from schizophrenia was still missing Wednesday night from an adult care facility in Weedsport. More than 20 searchers combed the fields and the woods northwest of Brutus for Alan Broder, a resident at the Evergreen Heights Adult Care Facility on Oakland Road, as the wind and snow flurries picked up Wednesday afternoon.
Six eyewitnesses saw a man matching his description in Brutus on Oakland and Compton roads between 2:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, leading to searchers to focus on that area Wednesday. An eyewitness saw someone matching Broder's description at the Pilot Truck Stop on 7th North Street in Liverpool, Onondaga County, around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Searchers could not confirm that Broder was still in Cayuga County and speculated that he might have been given a ride to another area where he used to live.
Broder's medical records indicated he received mental health care in both Onondaga and Oswego counties in the last decade, Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse said. Broder has lived at the Evergreen facility for the last year and a half.
It is not unusual for Broder and other residents of the Oakland Road facility to walk to the restaurants and other businesses in the village of Weedsport, but Broder was last seen walking in the opposite direction of the village.
“It would be a normal thing to do that,” Outhouse said. “We're dealing with that abnormality of him wandering in the other direction and not making it back to the facility.”
The sheriff's office was first alerted to Broder's disappearance when a resident reported the oddity of a man wandering in a rural setting, which led to the discovery that Broder had not returned to Evergreen as expected.
Searchers covering open ground Wednesday in Brutus where Broder was last seen were hampered by the weather.
“You're so limited in the snow. You almost have to trip over the guy to find him,” said Lt. Jim Langler of the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office as activity at
the search effort's command post wound down with dusk settling.
A search helicopter couldn't be launched Wednesday, and the bad weather cut into the stamina of the search and rescue volunteer specialists combing the open areas.
“It wears on you and the canine,” said Bart Swartz, a member of the Massasauga search and rescue team. “We're used to it. It's a thing you do. It cuts down on your visibility. It cuts down on your time frame.”
Search teams from five counties in the region came to aid the effort, including the Cayuga County Highland search and rescue team, the Livingston County search and rescue team, the Massasauga search and rescue team of Monroe County, the Onondaga County search and rescue team and the Oswego County search and rescue team. About 25 volunteer firefighters from Port Byron, Sennett and Weedsport fire departments aided them.
The search and rescue teams set up a search parameter based on the last sightings of Broder on a global positioning system-aided computer software program. They printed out maps - divided into grids - of territory to be covered.
Those searchers out in the field carried portable GPS monitors with a battery life of four to six hours. The monitors were able to track precisely where searchers had been, which was used to update how thoroughly the search parameters had been covered.
They focused on the areas where Broder was last sighted, on areas close to the road and areas where it was the most open to a pedestrian.
The command post on the second floor of the Weedsport Fire Department building was first set up at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers staffed the post until 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and then again from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
With night coming on and the wind rising, they closed
up the command post for the night.
“We certainly would have liked to have found him by now,” said Roger Fox, a member of the Oswego County search and rescue team.
About 20 law enforcement officers from the sheriff's office, the state police, the Port Byron Police Department and the Weedsport Police Department knocked on doors to interview residents and follow up on
tips. Officers also checked with area businesses.
Tips
Alan Broder is 5 foot, 11 inches and weighs 224 pounds. He is balding, has gray hair, hazel eyes and a gray beard. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 253-1222.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Searchers could not confirm that Broder was still in Cayuga County and speculated that he might have been given a ride to another area where he used to live.
Broder's medical records indicated he received mental health care in both Onondaga and Oswego counties in the last decade, Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse said. Broder has lived at the Evergreen facility for the last year and a half.
It is not unusual for Broder and other residents of the Oakland Road facility to walk to the restaurants and other businesses in the village of Weedsport, but Broder was last seen walking in the opposite direction of the village.
“It would be a normal thing to do that,” Outhouse said. “We're dealing with that abnormality of him wandering in the other direction and not making it back to the facility.”
The sheriff's office was first alerted to Broder's disappearance when a resident reported the oddity of a man wandering in a rural setting, which led to the discovery that Broder had not returned to Evergreen as expected.
Searchers covering open ground Wednesday in Brutus where Broder was last seen were hampered by the weather.
“You're so limited in the snow. You almost have to trip over the guy to find him,” said Lt. Jim Langler of the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office as activity at
the search effort's command post wound down with dusk settling.
A search helicopter couldn't be launched Wednesday, and the bad weather cut into the stamina of the search and rescue volunteer specialists combing the open areas.
“It wears on you and the canine,” said Bart Swartz, a member of the Massasauga search and rescue team. “We're used to it. It's a thing you do. It cuts down on your visibility. It cuts down on your time frame.”
Search teams from five counties in the region came to aid the effort, including the Cayuga County Highland search and rescue team, the Livingston County search and rescue team, the Massasauga search and rescue team of Monroe County, the Onondaga County search and rescue team and the Oswego County search and rescue team. About 25 volunteer firefighters from Port Byron, Sennett and Weedsport fire departments aided them.
The search and rescue teams set up a search parameter based on the last sightings of Broder on a global positioning system-aided computer software program. They printed out maps - divided into grids - of territory to be covered.
Those searchers out in the field carried portable GPS monitors with a battery life of four to six hours. The monitors were able to track precisely where searchers had been, which was used to update how thoroughly the search parameters had been covered.
They focused on the areas where Broder was last sighted, on areas close to the road and areas where it was the most open to a pedestrian.
The command post on the second floor of the Weedsport Fire Department building was first set up at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers staffed the post until 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and then again from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
With night coming on and the wind rising, they closed
up the command post for the night.
“We certainly would have liked to have found him by now,” said Roger Fox, a member of the Oswego County search and rescue team.
About 20 law enforcement officers from the sheriff's office, the state police, the Port Byron Police Department and the Weedsport Police Department knocked on doors to interview residents and follow up on
tips. Officers also checked with area businesses.
Tips
Alan Broder is 5 foot, 11 inches and weighs 224 pounds. He is balding, has gray hair, hazel eyes and a gray beard. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 253-1222.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.