Military survival skills may keep missing 75-year-old with dementia alive, NC cops say
William Daniel “Danny” Holt went missing Friday afternoon after taking his dog, Chunky, on a walk, according to authorities in North Carolina.
Holt has Alzheimer’s disease, but police said former military skills could aid his survival.
The Person County Sheriff’s Office first reported Holt missing on Dec. 20. The 75-year-old was last seen wearing a blue coat, burgundy sweatshirt, blue Dickey pants and black sneakers, according to a Silver Alert issued by the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Temperatures were below freezing in Roxboro the past few nights.
“People can survive longer than that but 96 hours is — it depends on what kind of survival skills he actually goes into,” Sheriff Dewey Jones said Monday during a press conference. “This guy is former military. We don’t know if his mind, with his Alzheimer’s, if he’s reverting back to his survival mode. So that could be a plus.”
Holt is 5 feet 5 inches tall with blue eyes and gray hair weighing 128 pounds. Chunky is a shaggy, mid-size, white and brown dog on a Harley Davidson leash.
Jones said authorities have been searching for Holt and his dog since around 12:30 p.m. Friday.
More than 40 search teams have been out looking for them on over 220 missions covering 8,100 acres of land, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities were expanding the search area on Monday.
Anyone with information on Holt’s whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 336-597-0500 ext. 0 or dial 911.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 11:56 AM.
