Bradenton police officers find missing 74-year-old senior after 24-hour search
After a senior citizen was reported missing Sunday afternoon, a day-long search by the Bradenton Police Department located and recovered the man.
Roberto Ceballas Ramirez, 74, was reported missing around 2 p.m. on Sunday. It is believed he left his home around 12:30 p.m., according to police.
After the missing person report was received, Bradenton police engaged in a 24-hour-long search for Ramirez, using on-foot officers, ATVs, the Marine Unit and thermal drone surveillance. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a purple alert for Ramirez Sunday evening.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office was also involved in the search, and the agency utilized K9 teams, a helicopter, the county’s Search and Rescue team, kayaks, and additional marine personel, K9s and thermal drones to find Ramirez.
According to the police department, Ramirez “is going to be ok,” and he was found at 2:47 p.m. on Monday.
The departments located Ramirez by using a K9 bloodhound with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which tracked his scent and located him in a “dense, brushy area approximately one mile from his home,” according to Bradenton police.
“He was dehydrated, but alert,” according to Meredith Censullo, the Bradenton Police Department’s public information officer. “BPD transported Roberto to an awaiting ambulance using a SKED rescue stretcher.”
The police stretchers were bought less than a year ago after the Bradenton City Council approved them through the opioid settlement funds.
“His family reported Roberto was chatty once inside the ambulance and requested a rotisserie chicken dinner,” Censullo said in a news release.
