Man found safe after night in woods
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD — Lloyd Jandreau, 69, safely returned Sunday, July 24, to the Southern Acres Care Facility in Westfield, after being reported missing the day before.
“The Maine Warden Service reports that Lloyd Jandreau was successfully located at approximately 5 a.m. Sunday, about a half mile north of the facility which he wandered away from on Saturday,” said Edith Smith, director, information and education, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Jandreau left on Saturday around 10:30 a.m., after he reportedly told personnel at the facility he was going fishing. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and carrying a fishing pole when he left for his outing. When he failed to return a few hours later, law enforcement was notified and a search ensued.
“The search by wardens began at approximately 3:45 p.m. Saturday and continued through the night. Jandreau has a history of wandering off and becoming lost,” said Smith.
This is not the first time Jandreau, who reportedly suffers from dementia and other medical conditions, has failed to return to the home. He was reported missing last year — almost a year to the day of this year’s disappearance — on July 18 under similar circumstances and was found a day later at a Route 1 residence. Officials were concerned the man, who’s originally from the Portage Lake area and still has family there, might try to make his way to Portage.
“On Saturday, he told people at the care facility that he was going fishing. He left the facility and became disoriented. He spent the night in the woods, sleeping under a tree, and walked out this morning to an area where rescue trucks were located,” Smith said.
Jandreau was taken by Southern Acre staff to The Aroostook Medical Center for evaluation, but reports are that he is fine, with bug bites and no life-threatening injuries.
“The Silver Alert System was activated Saturday night and a list of organizations in the search included: the Maine Warden Service, led by Sgt. Dan Menard; the Safety Division of the DIFW; Warden Service K-9 units; Mars Hill Fire Department; Maine State Police; Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department; Presque Isle Police Department; MESARD Search & Rescue Service; Dirigo Search and Rescue; U.S. Border Patrol, using a plane from Houlton; and Aroostook County Emergency Management,” said Smith.
