An 86-year-old Charles County man has been missing since going for his afternoon walk in chilly weather three weeks ago. News4’s Jackie Bensen spoke with his daughter.
Maryland officials shared a heartbreaking update after a great-grandfather with Alzheimer’s disease left home for a walk in January and never returned.
Richard Wilson Jr. was found dead in water in Fort Washington on Thursday afternoon after going missing from his Waldorf home two months earlier, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said. Wilson was 86.
“Our hearts go out to Mr. Wilson’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Sheriff Troy Berry said in a statement.
Prince George’s County police told Charles County detectives at about 2 p.m. Thursday that they found Wilson’s body in water near Mariner Drive, which is along the Potomac River. He was last seen on Swan Creek Road, the sheriff’s office said. Swan Creek Road is about 2 miles south of Mariner Drive.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
Wilson’s family told News4 he went for an afternoon walk in cold weather on Jan. 25. The family spoke with him by cellphone that day and tried to get him to describe where he was during the frantic search for him.
“We had him on the phone for four hours,” daughter LaWan Bowman told News4. “The police officers were there at the house. One officer had the opportunity to talk with him. And I asked, were there any homes or stores or anything near him, and he told me no. He said that he had slipped on some ice, the ice had cracked. So, he was wet, and I could hear him blowing in his hands, trying to keep his hands warm.”
Detectives used cellphone tracking tools, boats, dive teams, helicopters and K-9s to try to find Wilson, the sheriff’s office said. Earlier this week, searchers from multiple law enforcement agencies searched the Fort Washington Park area, about five miles from where Wilson’s body was found, the sheriff's office said.
Wilson had vision problems, in addition to memory issues, his daughter said.
He may have been trying to walk from Waldorf to the Eastover Shopping Center in Oxon Hill, where his daughters took him once a month to play keno and the lottery. It was a small pleasure after a lifetime of hard work. He retired from Saint Elizabeths Hospital in D.C. after 42 years, his daughter said.
An autopsy will determine Wilson's cause of death.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
