Maine trooper carries missing elderly man out of ditch

VASSALBORO, Maine (AP) — A Maine state trooper has come to the aid of an elderly man with Alzheimer’s disease who had wandered away from his home during a storm and ended up in a ditch.

Troopers got their missing person report from a home in Vassalboro at about 5 a.m. Wednesday. They also received information from a town plow truck driver that saw a man walking in the area that morning.

Trooper Tyler Harrington found the man, identified as Bernard Perry, in a ditch, who was suffering from severe hypothermia and frostbite. Sleet and freezing rain had fallen in the area.

Perry was unable to walk. Video shows Harrington carrying Perry across the road to his cruiser and the arrival of an ambulance.

Perry was taken to a hospital, where he is recovering from his injuries.

“We are grateful Bernard Perry was found in a timely manner and is recuperating,” the Maine Department of Public Safety said in a statement, adding it also was thankful for Harrington and law enforcement officers.