Sumter County authorities are searching for Jimmie Lee Sumter, a 54-year-old man with dementia who was last seen Saturday night walking down Weatherly Road toward a fire station, wearing only a hospital gown and with a bandage on the right side of his nose.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is leading the search for Sumter, according to a report from Cola Daily. The outlet reports that Sumter’s last known movements placed him near the fire station on Weatherly Road, dressed only in the hospital gown, with the bandage visible on his nose. Authorities are asking anyone who spots him to call 803-436-2000.
A Vulnerable Man Out in Just a Hospital Gown
A man with dementia has been unaccounted for since Saturday night, dressed in clothing that offers little protection and with a bandage on his nose.
Dementia-related disappearances carry their own particular urgency, since those affected can become disoriented about their location or unable to communicate who they are or where they live. That makes tips from the public, however small, especially valuable to investigators trying to narrow down where someone like Sumter may have gone.
Sumter County Has Handled Similar Searches Before
This is not the only missing-person case the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has worked recently. In July, the Sheriff’s Office also reported on the case of Mark Algie Holliday, a 57-year-old man whose family had not heard from him in almost a week, according to The State. Holliday had last been seen by relatives on July 1 after telling them he was headed to a doctor’s appointment in Columbia, with a final phone call from family on July 2, the newspaper reported. That search ended with good news: just after 12:30 p.m. on the day the case made headlines, the sheriff’s office said Holliday had been located and was safe, per the same outlet’s report…