Shortly after 5 p.m., Thursday, November 25th, Ward 8 Constable Ronnie Hagan contacted the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office to report an abandoned vehicle in close proximity to Hicks High School.
Hagan indicated that he had received reports that the vehicle had been parked in the same location for an extended period of time.
VPSO Deputies responded along with Hagan and found the abandoned vehicle running. Personal items to include a wallet were observed in plain sight within the vehicle.
The owner of the vehicle was identified and it was learned that the owner was a 46 year old male who resided in Grant, which is located in Allen Parish.
The Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted VPSO in locating the man’s family. Family members indicated that they had no idea as to why the man would have been in the Hicks area.
Detectives responded along with Retired VPSO Chase Team Member Ricky Stephens and K9 Duke.
A canvas of the area began in an attempt to locate the missing man.
Detectives located items belonging to the man in the immediate area of the school.
School personnel arrived and assisted in searching the entire school area to include all of the out buildings but the man was not located.
The search continued late into the night but due to the densely wooded area surrounding the school the decision was made to resume the search after daylight on Friday.
Friday morning the search resumed and a short time later the man was located in a restroom at the baseball complex shortly before 10:00 a.m.
The individual was disoriented and did not know where he was.
Sheriff Craft was at the location and spoke with the man who indicated that he did not know he was in Vernon Parish.
The man’s family members were contacted and advised that the individual had been located.
The man appeared to be uninjured but told Detectives that he was cold and had been lost in the woods before happening upon the building in which he was found.
Sheriff Craft would like to commend Ward 8 Constable Ronnie Hagan, VPSO Detectives, VPSO Deputies, Agents with the VPNTF, Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office, and retired Deputy Ricky Stephens and K9 Duke for their hard work which led to safe recovery of this individual.
The Detectives involved in this search came straight to the area after working on a homicide investigation. Their service to the citizens of Vernon Parish should be commended.
Sheriff Craft appreciates everyone’s hard work and is grateful for a job well done as well as the safe return of the individual to his family.
