October 4, 2018
From WNEP.com
Crews are out searching for missing hunter Thursday morning in Sullivan County.
According to officials, Walter Booth, 84 of Courtdale, came out to the state game lands near Dushore Tuesday for archery hunting.
They say he is familiar with the area.
A state police helicopter flew overhead the state game lands near Lopez as search and rescue crews trekked through the woods in Sullivan County.
Walter Booth, 84, went missing in this area after a hunting trip earlier this week.
“It is a large area with a lot of wet areas, swamp area, and arduous to get around,” said game warden Daniel Figured.
Officials say Booth was wearing a camo jacket and blue jeans when he went into the woods Tuesday afternoon.
Nobody has heard from him since storms swept through the area Tuesday evening.
Police found his vehicle and his hunting stand but no sign of Booth.
Search and rescue officials said rain made it increasingly difficult to find Booth.
“We are concerned because the night Mr. Booth went missing, we had heavy rains and we are concerned about him getting wet and hypothermia.”
There were close to 100 people looking for the elderly hunter.
Dushore Fire & Rescue Assistant ChiefJohn Yonkin had his high-tech drone giving extra air support during the search.
“We do a quick search from the air using both cameras and it allows us to cover a mile or a square mile in a minute versus several hours,” Yonkin said.
“Mr. Booth is 84 years old and one of the big concerns is his age, however, we have to be optimistic,” Figured added.