Dementia Patient Found, June 27

An elderly Roseburg man was found early Monday morning, June 25, after being reported missing by family. At 6:22 am, Deputies were notified that 80 year-old Merle Cummings had walked away from a residence in the 3300-block of Broad Street sometime between midnight and 6:00 am. It was relayed that Mr. Cummings suffered from dementia. Deputies and Search and Rescue were deployed to the area and began looking for Mr. Cummings. As part of the search, the Sheriff’s Office activated the Douglas County Citizen Emergency Notification System (DCENS). This system calls residents within a designated area to inform them of emergencies and alerts. At 7:26 am, a citizen called to report observing an elderly male with a walker in her back field in the 200-block of W. Kristen Court. Deputies responded and identified the subject as Mr. Cummings. He was transported to Mercy Medical Center by ambulance for evaluation. The citizen who found Mr. Cummings reported she had not received the DCENS notification because she had not subscribed her cell phone. For more information about DCENS, or to sign up to receive these alerts on your cell phone, please visit http://www.dcso.com/dccens/dccens_main.asp.