NEW PALESTINE — A missing New Palestine resident was found safe in Illinois shortly after a statewide Silver Alert was declared, asking residents across the region for help finding the senior citizen.
Police say they’re still investigating why 87-year-old John Graul drove away from his home early Saturday.
A neighbor told police he’d seen lights on in Graul’s garage around 3 a.m. Saturday; he called 911 around 8:30 a.m. after finding the man’s garage door standing open, and his car missing from inside, according to emergency dispatch records.
The local sheriff’s deputies who responded to Graul’s home found tire tracks through the man’s front yard, making it look as though he’d driven off in the middle of the night.
They contacted Graul’s family and began searching the area, including checking local hospitals, records show. When Graul wasn’t located, a statewide silver alert was issued around 11:30 a.m.
Graul was found about 30 minutes later in Illinois. His family picked him up and brought him home, police said.