83-Year-Old Man with Heart Condition Rescued from 20-Foot Ravine After Disappearing from His Home

Mar. 15, 2025

An 83-year-old man was rescued from a South Carolina ravine on Dec. 23.Photo:Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

An 83-year–old South Carolina man with a heart condition has been rescued from a ravine after disappearing from this home the night prior.

The elderly man was reported missing in the Lake Monticello area around 11 a.m. local time on Monday, Dec. 23, according to a news release from theFairfield County Sheriff’s Office(FCSO). His daughter told authorities that she had not seen him since about 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Temperatures were only in the 40s that morning, and had dropped into the mid-20s overnight, authorities said.

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After learning of the disappearance, Shift Lieutenant McLemore reportedly found that “the man’s the front door was open, the man’s hat was in the yard and a piece of clothing was discovered at the edge of the woods.”

According to the FCSO, “time was of the essence” as K-9 teams assisted with the search for the missing person.

After a nearly hour-long search, a K-9 officer spotted the man “at the bottom of a 20-foot ravine, department officials said. An officer went into the crevice “and confirmed it was the missing man, who was alive but weak.”

It is unclear how long the man was in the woods or why he left his home. But authorities said the man “is expected to make a full recovery.”

source: people.com