GRANVILLE, Mass. (WWLP) – Massachusetts State Police and Granville firefighters located a missing man in the Granville State Park Thursday night.
Around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Granville firefighters were informed that a 70-year-man had gone for a walk in the Granville State Park near West Harland Road and had not returned home in a timely manner. Firefighters and members of the Massachusetts State Police K9 Unit, Special Emergency Response Team and Air Wing began searching for the man.
The State Police Air Wing used an infrared camera to search for the man in the woods. The missing man had his cell phone on him and was able to tell police dispatchers that he could see the helicopter. He was instructed to wave his phone’s flashlight toward the helicopter, which helped the flight crew find him. State Police shared a video of the Air Wing helicopter locating that man in the forest.
Granville firefighters were told the location of the man and were able to safely rescue him.
“The temperature at the time of the search was 26 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping, and night had fallen; without the efforts of the State Police Air Wing and the various MSP and Granville Fire ground units, the lost man may have suffered severe, or even fatal, consequences from the cold. We are extremely grateful that we and our partners at Granville Fire had the opportunity, training, and equipment necessary to make sure this incident had a good ending,” said Massachusetts State Police.