An elderly man reported missing out of Illinois has been found in a field in Adair County.
On Sunday afternoon at approximately 3:00, the Adair County Sheriff’s Office was notified that an abandoned vehicle had been located on Pelston Cemetery Road in Breeding, about 13 miles south of Columbia.
Deputies arrived on scene and discovered the vehicle belonged to 74-year-old Thomas Burden, of Round Lake Beach, Illinois, according to Adair Co. Emergency Management (ACEM).
An intensive search for Burden was undertaken by over a dozen agencies comprised of 32 individuals. The search, plagued by heavy rain and lightning, was suspended twice.
“Due to adverse weather conditions, the search was suspended twice. The search area was very remote and treacherous, we suspended the search out of safety concerns for our rescuers. It was raining heavily, hailing, lightening with winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour,” Breeding Fire Department Capt. Brandon Harvey said.
Then, at approximately 10:15, Burden was located by Campbellsville Fire Chief Chris Taylor using a thermal drone. Burden was found about 1,300 feet from where his vehicle was located. He was lying conscious in a field suffering from hypothermia, according to the ACEM.
He was transported to T.J. Health Columbia before being taken to T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow.
Round Lake Beach, Illinois, is a Chicago suburb north of the city, approximately five miles west of Waukegan and over 450 miles from Adair County.
According to the ACEM, the following agencies contributed to the search: Breeding Fire Department, Adair County 911, Columbia – Adair County Fire Department, Cumberland County Rescue Squad, Campbellsville Fire & Rescue, Campbellsville Police Department drone, Kentucky Emergency Management EOC, Kentucky Emergency Management Area 10 Manager Bruce Crouch, Adair County Ambulance Service, CSI KY – Canine Search Inc., of Kentucky, Fly High Aerial Drone, Photography and Drone Deer Recovery, Alpha Team Air Support-Drone Deer Recovery, and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.
(Photo: Thomas Burden, courtesy of Adair Co. Emergency Management)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
