Rogers County Mounted Patrol Finds Missing Veteran In Woods

A Rogers County man is safe after spending 13 hours in the bitter cold.

The man's family said he is a disabled veteran with medical issues and at 3:00 Tuesday morning he simply walked out of his house and wandered into the woods.

Often during rescues we see helicopters and patrol cars, but for the search deep into the woods of Rogers County, horses and ATVs were credited for saving 49-year-old Brad Burns.

Robert Burns, said he spent hours searching for his stepfather.

"My mother gave me a call around 8:00 this morning and said Brad was gone," he said.

When he came up empty handed, he decided to call the Rogers County Sheriff. That is when seven members of the mounted patrol showed up.

“You pretty much drop what you're doing and try to find the missing person. This is why we do what we do and we want to be here for the community," mounted patrol member, Pam Marlor said.

Tuesday, the volunteers accomplished that by finding the missing 49 year old in the woods, 13 hours after leaving his home.

“We care about Brad tremendously, and just the fact that all these folks came out just to look for him and they put in so much effort and time and wore themselves out. It just amazes me, they're awesome," Brad's daughter-in-law, LeAnne Burns said.

The unit and its 25 volunteers started with the Rogers County Sheriff's Office a little more than one year ago.

“For him to put the call out and say we need you and for them to do this is just exhilarating," said Major Coy Jenkins.

The horses are the patrol members' personal animals.

During searches, they keep in touch through radio and wear bright colors as a way to catch the attention of the person they are looking for.

The tactic worked and they found Brad in the woods holding a bible, wearing just a shirt, shorts and shoes.

"I had faith they would do everything to find him. It was a long search with a lot of worry but they got the job done and succeeded," Robert Burns said.

LeAnne Burns said, "I just want to thank you guys so much from bottom of my heart. If it hadn't been for the mounted patrol, who knows if we would've found him at all."

Mounted Patrol members find out about searches through text messages, and, like a volunteer fire department, respond when available.

This is the second time the patrol has been used in a search; both times they successfully found the person they were looking for.