According to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith, a missing North Carolina man was found by a sheriff’s deputy after a routine traffic stop.
Larry Smith, 75, of 1643 Longview Drive in Winston Salem, N.C., was found after being stopped by Sgt. Patrick County Sheriff’s Winfred Hill.
Hill was on routine patrol at 6:36 a.m. on January 18 when he observed a vehicle traveling on Jeb Stuart Highway (U.S. 58) at approximately 20 miles per hour. Hill followed the vehicle and eventually conducted a traffic stop to find Larry Smith as the operator.
The elderly man advised Hill that he was lost and that he had spent the night in his vehicle. Hill was able to contact Larry Smith’s family in Winston-Salem, and they came to pick him up.
The family told Hill that they did not realize Larry Smith had driven away, and that he was suffering from multiple health issues.
“This was a tragedy in the making that was avoided because Sergeant Hill’s actions,” Dan Smith stated in a Thursday release.