EASTHAM – Eastham Police report that On Friday morning, December 13, 2019 at approximately 7:50am, the Eastham Police Department, along with the Eastham Fire Department responded to Hemenway Landing for a report of a vehicle off the roadway and stuck in the mud in a remote location. The vehicle was not visible from the parking lot but was spotted by an off-duty Eastham Firefighter who had been boating in the area. The vehicle was determined to belong to a 75-year-old individual from Wellfleet who suffers from dementia who had been reported missing on Thursday afternoon. The vehicle was unoccupied at the time it was located. The Wellfleet Police Department was notified and a Wellfleet Police Officer responded to the scene to help coordinate the search for the individual. The Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team and the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council Search Team were called to the scene to search for the individual. A K9 unit from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office also responded as well as a helicopter from the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing. Drones from both the Eastham Fire Department and the Brewster Fire Department were also utilized. When Barnstable County Sherriff’s Deputy Jason Bernardo arrived on scene with his K9 partner “Nick”, they deployed in the area of where the vehicle was located. Deputy Bernardo is also a member of the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council Search Team. Deputy Bernardo and K9 Nick tracked the missing person for approximately one-half a mile and located the individual kneeling in the mud in a marshy area. The Eastham Fire Department provided emergency medical treatment and transported the individual to Cape Cod Hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. The vehicle was then towed from the marsh.
Multiple surrounding agencies assisted with the search as part of the police and fire rescue teams. Their quick response as well as the outstanding work by Deputy Bernardo and K9 “Nick” produced a successful ending to this incident.
Image via Google Earth/CWN; photo below by Brewster Fire-Rescue/CWN
