Missing elderly man gets ride to town, meal at restaurant

As multiple local agencies were searching for him Monday morning and afternoon, apparently Arthur Sauer was enjoying quality meal.

The 79-year-old dementia patient from southern Madison Township went missing around 10:45 a.m. and was located by Greencastle Police on the north side of the Putnam County Courthouse Square at approximately 1 p.m.

So, what was Sauer doing in the meantime? Apparently getting a ride into town so he could go to a restaurant.

When he went missing, authorities believed Sauer to be on foot, making his final location seven miles from home seem unlikely.

The details are sketchy, but Sauer apparently got a ride from his residence on County Road 550 West to downtown Greencastle.

At one point during the ordeal, he was contacted by phone and indicated to his family that he was eating.

Authorities were able to ping his phone to determine that he was on the north side of the courthouse, where he was located sitting on a bench.

In the interim, though, Putnam County sheriff’s deputies, Putnam County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), Greencastle Police and even bloodhounds from Putnamville Correctional Facility all took part in the search.

Contact was even made with the Indiana State Police for an air search team, though that resource was not mobilized.