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The search began on Thursday, July 27 in Putnam County, when Carmel Police were notified that 66-year-old Roy Clayton was missing from his Myrtle Avenue home in Mahopac.
Clayton had last been seen by his family around lunchtime when he left his residence to go on a walk and was reported to have serious medical conditions that required daily medication he had not carried with him, according to Carmel Police Lt. Michael Bodo.
Clayton's family had searched the area on their own before notifying police of his disappearance. Once Carmel officers arrived at the scene to begin their search, the department also deployed a K-9 officer and a drone unit as well.
Over the course of Thursday night, the search was also joined by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, Westchester County Police, and the Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department. However, as the effort continued into the weekend, the search continued to be unsuccessful.
This led to further assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department, Carmel Volunteer Fire Department, Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services Technical Rescue Team, and several local search and rescue teams, who all began searching dense woods in the Mahopac area surrounding the Clayton residence.
As the search continued into Sunday, July 30, Carmel Police detectives led by Bodo and Detective Sergeant Brian Forde organized another canvass of the residential area surrounding Myrtle Avenue to find any home surveillance footage that may have captured Clayton.
Luckily, one video depicted Clayton in the area of Rustic Road and Pouting Rock Road in Mahopac around 11 a.m. on Thursday. Based on this, the search effort on Monday, July 31 focused on a multi-acre wooded area between Pouting Rock Road and Carmine Drive in Mahopac.
Finally, around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Clayton was found alive and conscious in the woods behind Carmine Drive by State Police Trooper Patrick Porteus and his K-9 partner Jet, as well as Carmel Police K-9 Unit Officer Vincent DeSantola and his K-9 partner, Pietro.
More units then arrived at the location to help treat Clayton and take him to an awaiting helicopter, which airlifted him to Westchester Medical Center.
Bodo said that the search proved successful because of the numerous agencies that helped with the effort.
"The Town of Carmel Police Department thanks the tremendous response, teamwork, and never-ending effort of our partner first responder agencies, volunteers, and community members that participated in the successful resolution to this incident," Bodo said.
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