A 75-year-old Groveport man with dementia has been missing since Wednesday afternoon, and police say anyone who spots him should call 911 instead of approaching him. Thurman Walker was last seen leaving his home in the 4900 block of Bixby Ridge Drive at 12:47 p.m., walking away with no known direction of travel, according to the Groveport Police Department.
Walker suffers from dementia-related memory impairment, and police have not said which way he headed after leaving the residential neighborhood in southern Franklin County, as reported by 10TV WBNS. He is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall and roughly 170 pounds, according to that station's report, though WSYX had earlier listed his weight at 160 pounds. He has brown eyes and is bald, per the same account.
Police say Walker was last seen wearing a grey Ohio State University hoodie, blue jeans, white shoes, and a black Ohio State University hat, according to police alerts detailed by Scioto Post. He has not returned home since leaving Wednesday, and law enforcement has expressed concern for his safety.
Police Urge No Physical Contact
The Groveport Police Department has advised residents who spot Walker looking disoriented to avoid physical intervention and instead call 911 or (614) 525-3333 immediately. WSYX reported that the Franklin County Sheriff's Office can also be reached at (614) 525-3365 by anyone who sees him. Franklin County authorities have asked the public to help locate him as the search continues.
How Ohio's Missing Adult Alert System Works
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 5502.522, an Endangered Missing Adult Alert can be requested by local police and activated through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation when a missing person is 65 or older or mentally impaired and the disappearance poses a credible threat of immediate harm or death, according to the Ohio Association of Broadcasters. Unlike AMBER Alerts issued for missing children, these adult alerts do not trigger loud Wireless Emergency Alert sounds on mobile phones. Instead, they rely on email notifications, text alerts, highway electronic signs, and news media broadcasts to spread the word — which is why local coverage and social media sharing matter so much in cases like Walker's.
The system has a strong track record. In 2022, the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation issued 146 Endangered Missing Adult Alerts across 38 counties, and 145 of those missing adults were safely located, identified, or returned home, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Wandering Is Common, but Time Is Critical
Roughly 60 percent of people living with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia will wander away from home or caregivers at least once during their illness, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Search-and-rescue research cited in dementia care guidance from the City of Wheaton Government found that 94 percent of missing dementia patients who wander on foot are located within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared, since disoriented adults often follow linear paths rather than doubling back.
Time still matters enormously in these searches. Medical and search-and-rescue statistics compiled by Trualta indicate that 72 percent of missing dementia patients found alive are recovered within the first 24 hours, with survival rates dropping to 51 percent by the second day, as heat exposure, dehydration, and missed medications compound the risk. Walker had been missing for roughly a day and a half as of Thursday afternoon, and police have not indicated whether he was carrying any medication or supplies when he left.
