FARMINGTON — A local man was found near his Maple Avenue home Wednesday morning, hours after his family reported him missing.

Clyde Meader, 73, left his home at 217 Maple Ave. between 2 and 5:30 a.m. Farmington police officer William Tanner said. Meader has dementia, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, Tanner said.

The family awoke, found him missing and called police at about 6:15 a.m., Tanner said.

Franklin County Cpl. Christopher Chase and his dog, Abby, first followed a trail down Maple Avenue and High Street to the horse barns at the Farmington Fairgrounds. Sheriff’s Department Lt. David Rackliffe and his dog, Justice, searched the wooded area behind Meader’s home, which borders the back of the fairgrounds, and were about to leave when he realized he lost his radio in the thick brush and went back to retrieve it.

That’s when Rackliffe spotted Meader standing against the fence between Maple Avenue properties and the fairgrounds, apparently trying to figure out how to get home.

A NorthStar ambulance brought Meader to his home where he was checked. Family members said he was OK.

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