Police: York man, 74, with dementia, reported missing, found dead in ditch

A 74-year-old man whom family members said had dementia and was reported missing Sunday afternoon was found dead hours later in a ditch near his home, according to a York County Sheriff’s Office report.

The man lived on Old Son Lowery Road near S.C. 49, west of Lake Wylie. His body was found in a ditch along S.C. 49 near Old McKinney Road, about a street away, before 11 p.m., the report states.

The man’s son told responding deputies Sunday he noticed his father missing after 3:30 p.m. The son thought that his father may have been picked up by a family member for a birthday party, but after talking with family the father was not with any of them, so the son called police.

Deputies were told the father took medication for seizures and had other health problems. Officers called in a K-9 unit and afterward the man was found in the ditch along S.C. 49.

The cause of the man’s death, according to a statement Monday from York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, “appears to be natural.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Police: York man, 74, with dementia, reported missing, found dead in ditch."