COs used “lost person behavior” – a search and rescue method – to find the 70-year-old man



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Oct. 1, 2025
Contact: Lt. Jeremy Payne <[email protected]>, 989-297-2941

Conservation officers apply search and rescue tactics to locate missing Ogemaw County man

A 70-year-old man from Ogemaw County, Michigan, was reunited with family Tuesday afternoon after becoming lost near his home earlier that day.

Around 11:30 a.m. the man wandered away from his home, a wooded and rural area located near County Highway F-18 and M-30 in Edwards Township.

Officers from the Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office were the first to arrive on the scene and began searching with canine units. A Michigan State Police helicopter was in the air nearby and also searched the area.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers Kyle Bader, Brad Bellville and Josh Jobin and probationary CO Andrew Werth responded to the area and used “lost person behavior [ [link removed] ]" – a search and rescue method – to begin searching.

At 3:10 p.m., one of the conservation officers located the man in a ditch, approximately 100 yards from his home. The man was in stable condition and did not require medical attention.

“Based on our training we know that people with health conditions, such as dementia in this situation, are often located within 1.5 miles from the place they left,” said the DNR’s Lt. Jeremy Payne.

Since 2012, conservation officers have received search and rescue training [ [link removed] ], often using it to locate people in challenging terrains not accessible by vehicles. Conservation officers continue to advance that training through tactical tracking, which includes identifying and following a trail of evidence from the missing person.

The Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Office was the lead agency in this event, assisted by the DNR and Michigan State Police.

Michigan conservation officers [ [link removed] ] are fully licensed law enforcement officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety, and protect residents through general law enforcement and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve.


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