This is so sad. I had so hoped they would have found him by now.

[LibraLiz1973]

Dogs will search for missing Hamilton man
Posted by The Times of Trenton June 20, 2007 3:53PM

HAMILTON -- As the search for an 81-year-old missing man, Gordon Hector, approaches its sixth day, police are preparing to switch their focus from rescue to recovery, officials said.

"At this point, it's not looking good," Hamilton Lt. James Kostoplis said.

"There's always hope though."

Rain prevented investigators from utilizing police dogs in the search efforts Wednesday, but Kostoplis said they plan to continuing Thursday.

"We will be bringing out cadaver dogs (Thursday) to re-search the wooded areas," Kostoplis said.

Meanwhile, the State Senate will be voting on a bill Thursday that, if enacted, would call on State Police to establish standards for handling missing persons cases involving juveniles and those with Alzheimer's disease.

Sen. Peter Inverso (R-14, Mercer and Middlesex), who is sponsoring the bill, said it is "highly coincidental" that this vote and Mr. Hector's disappearance have coincided, because it has been in the works for some time.

"This bill would ask State Police to take a step back and evaluate what already is in place, and what needs to be done," Inverso said.

Inverso said if there were statewide standards on how to handle these cases, time could be shaved off the process, which could lead to saving lives.

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Search Continues For Missing Mercer Co. Man
(CBS 3) HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. State and local police are continuing their search for an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer’s who went missing in Mercer County last week.

The family of Gordon Hector, 81, spent Father’s Day searching and posting fliers in hopes of finding the elderly man who went missing just after 6:30 p.m. Friday.

On Monday evening, officers, both on foot and in the air, searched the Robbinsville area, about three miles from Hector's home, after a sighting of someone matching his description.

Hector, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, left his Park Avenue home for a walk and did not return. His wife said he answered his cell phone after she called him several hours after he left their Hamilton Township home.

“I said, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I’m in the woods and it’s very dark and I don’t know where I am.’ And then his voice was very emotional,” wife Lois Hector said.

Hector’s phone has been turned off since he made the call to his wife Friday night.

Spirits were lifted Monday when an employee at the West Windsor Market thought he spotted Hector around 10:30 a.m.

“He didn’t ask me for nothing. He was just looking,” said a formal wear store employee.

Fliers were posted at the West Windsor Market in hopes of finding the missing father.

“We’ve been running down a lot of addresses and prior employment, and no luck there,” said Det. Lt. James Kostoplis of the Hamilton Township police department.

Hector is approximately 6’1”, 180 pounds, with white hair and a white mustache. He has a tattoo of an anchor on his upper left arm and was last seen wearing a light-colored short-sleeve shirt, tan shorts and tan shoes.

“He has a four-day growth of a beard and his clothes might be dirty now,” said Lois Hector.

Anyone with information is urged to call Hamilton Township police

[SeattleGirl]

1. Damn, that IS sad.

I do hope they find him alive, but after six days.....

Good vibes for the safe return of this gentleman.

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. Jesus, I'm sorry to read this...

I do hope they find the gentleman.

[Reverend_Smitty]

3. I heard about the switch to the recovery mission today on the news...

I hope that by some miraculous grace of god that they will find him alive, but it doesn't look good at this point. We don't live in that much of a rural area so I'm very surprised that nobody has happened upon him by now. I actually drove past the park that the authorities thought he was lost in today...there were so many soccer games going on that it seemed impossible that he could be wandering around in there

[SeattleGirl]

4. That's probably true, but if for some reason he was there, he may

have been frightened or really confused from all the noise from the games.

[VenusRising]

5. I feel so bad for that family.

They missed Father's Day with him, and they still haven't found him.

I hope someting miraculous happened for him. I really do.

:cry:

[Bjornsdotter]

6. Same thing happened in our small town

...an elderly man with Alzheimers walked out of his home one December day and he has never been found.

Hope that Mr Hector is found quickly and in good health.

Cheers

[LibraLiz1973]

8. As Alzheimer's becomes more and more common

I think it's becoming clear that something needs to be done.
There is a program through the police department in Gordon Hectors area that
provides bracelets to people with Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, his family did
not know about it until AFTER he had gone missing.

This is every child's worst nightmare- literally losing an elderly parent and
being unable to find them. And I also feel so badly for his wife!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Poor guy must be terrified...

I hope and pray that they find him soon...

[idgiehkt]

9. when my grandmother got alzheimers she was unfamiliar with

her surroundings. She remembered her house from her childhood, so she would always as "where are we, whose house is this?" When we'd tell her she was home, she would say "it just doesn't seem right, something is just not right, I don't recognize any of it, or, it just doesn't seem familiar." I often wonder if these folks set off sometimes to find a home or familiar place from an earlier part of their memory that is not destroyed yet.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. My great grandfather did...

The police picked him up a couple of times in the middle of the night, trying to get a ride to Peshtigo, WI. That's a long ride from DC.

My grandmother used to fade in and out. She'd recognize me one minute, and in the blink of an eye she'd think I was someone from long ago.

[MrsMatt]

10. my uncle had alhzeimers

and wandered away from his "secure" home on September 14, 2001. Authorities searched for days, helicopters, dogs, volunteers - the works. Finally found his body, 2 1/2 years later. He "visited" his daughter in a vision 3 days before his body was found, telling her that he was ready to come home.

[stuntcat]

12. :vibes:

he looks nice ;(