K9 team finds missing 96-year-old man in good condition

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — A K9 team located a 96-year-old Fort White man on Tuesday, just hours after he was reported missing.

A neighbor reported around noon that she had not seen William Carlson for two days and asked for deputies to do a welfare check, according to a release from Columbia County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Murray Smith.

Latest News Headlines from Action News

They believed Carlson was near his home on foot, as his door was unlocked and his car was still at home. Investigators asked for a K9 team from Baker Correctional Institution to assist in searching near his home.

Neighbors also assisted in the search and around 2:45 p.m., the K9 team found Carlson a half mile away, lying in tall grass near woods off of SW Briar Patch Terrace, Smith said.

Carlson told deputies that he had been out all night after he went for a walk and fell. Smith was checked out at a nearby hospital and was found to be in good physical and mental condition.

For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts

WJAX