Off-Duty Rogers County Deputy Finds Missing Elderly Wisconsin Man By Road

An off-duty Rogers County deputy found a missing elderly man from Wisconsin, hundreds of miles from home and lost and on the side of the road here in Oklahoma.

The 80-year-old man was found in an incredibly short amount of time after he was reported missing.

Captain Adam Hull is a deputy with the Rogers County Sheriff's Office. He was actually off-duty late Thursday night and headed home from a security job, but even when he's not working he keeps is police radio handy.

"My ears perked up when I hear something like that, concern for the elderly," Hull said.

A call went out that an elderly man from Wisconsin was headed to see his daughter in Texas, but was missing.

Hull was in the right place, at the right time.

"It's a God thing to be honest with you. I think God put me in this line of work for a reason. Putting bad guys in jail is fun, but being able to help somebody in need like that is very rewarding and that's why I do this job," Hull said.

Just five minutes after hearing the alert, Hull found 80-year-old Ken De Tarville in his car on the side of the road near Foyil.

De Tarville was headed from Washburn, Wisconsin to his daughter's home in Allen, Texas, a distance of 1,100 miles.

Family members told officers he called them saying he was lost.

"When we first made contact with him, he was extremely lost. He thought he was in front of his house in Wisconsin," Hull said.

It turns out he was facing north on Route 66.

Hull said he hates to think of what could have happened if De Tarville wasn't found so quickly or faced a medical emergency.

"God forbid that he'd end up on a back road somewhere, and had a heart attack or breathing problems or something like that, not knowing where he's at, and not being able to get medical help. And you always think the worst," Hull said.

The missing man's family is very grateful for Hull's quick action.

"He's an angel. We love our Dad and he's a good man, and I'm so glad he was there to find him," said the man's daughter, Sandy De Tarville.

Ken De Tarville is now back with his family in Texas and doing fine.