APACHE COUNTY, AZ – A Florida man is safely heading home after getting lost in Arizona, mistakenly believing he was in Georgia.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 3, Arizona DPS dispatchers in Apache County received a distress call from a man who said he was thirsty, hungry, and close to passing out. He identified himself as a Florida resident driving a Chevrolet Malibu but wasn’t sure of his location.
The call soon dropped, and dispatchers were unable to reconnect with him.
Highway Patrol units tracked the man’s location to a remote area on the Navajo Nation, east of US 191. After an extensive search, AZDPS Rangers and District 3 troopers found him just after 4:30 p.m.
The 80-year-old told troopers he believed he was in Atlanta, Georgia, delivering items to a friend. Authorities later determined the man suffers from dementia.
He was taken to a hospital as a precaution while plans were made to safely return him to Florida.
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