Missing Prineville man, 81, found near Klamath Falls

An 81-year-old Prineville man reported missing with his pickup truck Monday was found Tuesday morning, having been involved in a non-injury crash near Klamath Falls, police said.

Oregon State Police responded at 6:13 a.m. to the reported crash at milepost 215 on Highway 97, said Prineville Police Chief Dale Cummins.

They arrived and identified the missing Prineville man, Thomas Kirkpatrick, as one of the drivers involved in the crash, Cummins said.

OSP “notified the family, and arrangements are being made to reunite them,” the police chief said in a news release.

Cummins said the police department wanted to thank the law enforcement agencies that helped search for Kirkpatrick, including the Crook and Deschutes County sheriff’s offices and OSP, as well as the city police agencies in Deschutes County.

Prineville police had asked the public for help Monday night in finding the missing man, with possible onset of dementia, who last had been seen driving a pickup truck in Prineville late Monday morning, possibly heading to Bend at the wheel of a 1996 Chevy C2500 extended-cab long-bed pickup.