Tulsa police are asking for the public's help finding George Metevelis, a 77-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease who was last seen walking west near 58th Street and Mingo Road. Officers say he may need assistance because of his medical condition, and anyone with information is urged to come forward.
According to News On 6, Metevelis lives in the Tulsa area and was wearing a red and brown long-sleeve flannel shirt, an undershirt, blue jeans and blue shoes when he was last seen. Tulsa police have asked the public for help locating him, and the department can be reached at 918-596-9222 with any information about his whereabouts. A separate report from fox23.com similarly described the Tulsa Police Department asking for the public's help in locating a missing 77-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease, though that outlet's own article title referred to a missing 79-year-old man found safe — a discrepancy that remains unresolved in the available reporting.
Why Every Hour Matters
Cases involving missing people with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias are treated differently than typical missing-person reports because of how quickly danger can escalate. The International Association of Chiefs of Police says such reports should be treated as emergencies, with searches beginning as soon as reasonably possible, according to theiacp.org. The same guidance states that the first six hours are the most critical, and that roughly 60 percent of missing people with Alzheimer's or related dementias who require law-enforcement help and are found alive are located within that window.
The guidance also notes that up to 70 percent of people with Alzheimer's or related dementias wander away from a caregiver or care setting at some point during the illness, and about 75 percent of those who go missing leave on foot. More than three-quarters of people who wander on foot are found within a 10-mile radius of where they disappeared, per the same source. The Alzheimer's Association offers a narrower estimate, noting that many individuals who wander are found within 1.5 miles of where they vanished, according to alz.org.
A Common but Serious Risk
Wandering is not a rare occurrence among people living with dementia. The Alzheimer's Association says six in 10 people living with dementia will wander at least once, and many do so repeatedly — behavior the organization describes as common but potentially dangerous, even life-threatening. The IACP guidance adds that the most common causes of death among missing people with Alzheimer's or related dementias are exposure and drowning.
The National Institute on Aging recommends that caregivers keep a recent photograph or video of a person with Alzheimer's on hand in case police need it, and suggests considering enrollment in a safe-return program to help with identification if a person becomes lost. Oklahoma's Department of Public Safety advises that anyone needing to report a missing or endangered adult should contact local police or a sheriff's department by calling 911.
Tulsa has seen similar cases in recent months. A News On 6 report in June described police seeking help finding John Quillian, a Tulsa veteran with Alzheimer's who was last seen in downtown Tulsa, and Fox23 has reported on Oklahoma Highway Patrol issuing a Silver Alert on behalf of Tulsa police for an 86-year-old woman last seen in Kansas. It is not known whether a Silver Alert has been issued in Metevelis's case. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Tulsa Police Department at 918-596-9222, while anyone facing an immediate emergency should call 911.
