Update: Citizen finds missing, elderly Bend man

(Update: 90-year-old man found, Mt. Washington Dr.)

A 90-year-old man who walked away from his northwest Bend home late Monday afternoon and failed to return, prompting an extensive search and public alert, was found early Tuesday by a citizen who spotted him sitting along Mount Washington Drive and called police, officers said.

Shortly before 1 a.m., the citizen contacted police, seeking a welfare check on an elderly man sitting along the roadway on Mount Washington Drive near Third Street, Lt. Ken Mannix said. Police identified him as Jerome Jewett, the subject of the missing person case.

Given Jewett’s exposure to the cold, windy and wet weather, he was taken to St. Charles Bend for evaluation.

Mannix said police want to recognize the citizen who reported their concerns to law enforcement. He also thanked the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue division “for their tireless assistance in this case.”

Police alerted the public Monday night in a bid to help find Jewett who had walked away from his home in the 1200 block of Northwest Hartford Avenue.

His direction of travel was unknown, Mannix said, and he had no vehicle.

Jewett was described as tall and thin, about 6-foot-3 and 165 pounds. He was wearing a green ski jacket and blue jeans.

While seeking tips from the public, Bend police called in DCSO SAR volunteers to help in the search for the missing man on a night of rain, strong winds and chilly temperatures. Mannix said an Emergency Phone Network (EPN) alert also was being sent to residents in the area.