Two days after disappearing from his home in Moss Bluff, 65-year-old Don Williams is back in the loving embrace of his family. He was found Wednesday morning, around 10:30 a.m., at a property off of SH 105 between Batson and Sour Lake in neighboring Hardin County, nearly an hour’s drive from his home in south Liberty County.
Despite being subjected to two brutal nights of wintry weather that saw temperatures dip into the teens, Williams appears to be in good physical condition. He was checked out by EMS and then released to his family, said Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis.
Williams’ whereabouts was reported to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday morning by a local citizen who saw someone coming out of his barn. When he went to check on what the person was doing in the barn, it immediately became clear that the person was disoriented and in need of help. The citizen reported the man to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and soon thereafter it was discovered that the man was a missing person out of Liberty County.
Williams’ daughter, Donna Clay, is grateful that her father has been returned safely to their family. She expressed gratitude to Bluebonnet News’ readers who have shared the story hundreds of times since the article was posted Tuesday night.
“I can’t even begin to express my appreciation. I am very thankful for everyone’s prayers,” she said
Sheriff Davis has advice for families dealing with family members suffering with memory loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia or other mental health disorders. He recommends taking note of the description of their vehicles and recording the license plates for all vehicles their family members and loved ones drive, so that if a missing report needs to be made involving a vehicle, the license plate can be flagged in the databases used by law enforcement.
“We might have found this man sooner had the license plate number been flagged in the system,” Sheriff Davis said. “When a vehicle is flagged and found, we might not be able to locate the missing person right away, but we have a starting point.”
Another option for tech-savvy people are air tags, small tracking devices made by Apple. Air tags can be dropped into bags, purses, cars and other personal items, and will provide a GPS location to the person tracking the air tag.
However, like all technology, air tags can be misused, Sheriff Davis said.
“Sometimes you will have air tags used by a jealous spouse and that can be a problem. They can be very good when used for the right reasons. Air tags are also used to track heavy equipment, such as bull dozers and machinery,” Davis said.
Great news, glad he’s doing well šš¼