After a 10-hour search, Sterling Heights Police and Michigan State Police were able to rescue a man with dementia who had been reported missing earlier that day.
Watch body cam video from Sterling Heights Police of the rescue, and chopper footage from MSP
Trooper 2 Assist:
— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) July 26, 2025
07/25 Trooper 2 was requested by Sterling Heights Police Department to assist in locating a missing Dementia Patient.
Trooper 2 responded to the area of 18 Mile near Utica Rd where the man was last seen.
He was located in a heavily wooded park and the crew… pic.twitter.com/JUqIWrwlZF
THe man was found on Friday night (July 25) in a heavily wooded area of Dodge Park.
The two agencies had been searching for the man earlier in the day, and the man was spotted around 9:30 p.m. by MSP's aerial team.
Officers found the man about 100 yards into the words, lying in mud under a fallen tree and branches.
Officers were able to carry the man out of the woods to a nearby pathway before eventually being taken to the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.
"There is no doubt in our minds that had it not been for the critical assistance of the Michigan State Police helicopter, this outcome could have been very different," said Chief Andy Satterfield with the Sterling Heights Police Department. "All of the officers involved demonstrated unwavering determination and their teamwork, skill and refusal to give up quite literally saved a life."
