Update, 8:45 a.m. Friday, Jan. 5:
Keith Schmitz, 84, of Lawrence, was found safe early Friday.
“Some good Samaritans found his car on the side of the road and took him to the nearest police station in Crescent, Oklahoma,” according to an update from the Lawrence Police Department. “He is being checked out by EMS and family will head down to get him.”
Police expressed their gratitude for the community’s willingness to help when they call out with a need to spread the word.
Original post, 12:47 a.m. Friday, Jan. 5:
Lawrence Police Department officers are concerned about Keith Schmitz, 84, of Lawrence, and they have asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to issue a statewide silver alert to help find him, according to a news release from the department early Friday.
Schmitz is believed to have left Lawrence in a 2001 Cadillac Eldorado with Kansas tag 98817. The vehicle has damage to the passenger side door, according to the release.
“We have evidence that he was in Vinita, Oklahoma about 8:00 pm and may have been heading toward Tulsa, but we need everyone to keep an eye out because we also know he was confused. Mr. Schmitz has dementia,” according to the release.
Schmitz is a white man with gray hair and blue eyes. He’s approximately 5-foot-9, and he weighs around 145 pounds.
Police ask anyone who sees Schmitz or his vehicle to call 911 or dispatch at 785-832-0250 immediately. If anyone has other information about the case, LPD asks them to call the department at 785-832-7509.
LPD will post updates on its Facebook page, facebook.com/LawrenceKansasPolice, and Twitter, @LawrenceKS_PD.
If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
If you have news tips, questions, comments, concerns, compliments or corrections for our team, please reach out and let us know what’s on your mind. Email us at Hello@LawrenceKSTimes.com, or find more contact info and a quick contact form at LawrenceKSTimes.com/contact.
Follow us so you won’t miss the local news that matters most to you:
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
