JACK-GORDON- HEALTH STATUS

     So, back to our discussion about the mysterious disappearance of Jack Gordon.  When dealing with elderly missing persons, the health status of the individual must come under consideration.  Jack Gordon was 77 years old at the time of his disappearance. For many years he had suffered from occasional bouts of vertigo, with sudden dizziness and loss of balance.  He had borderline high blood pressure, not out of the ordinary for a man his age.  About a year and half before he disappeared he had experienced a minor stroke, but had physically recuperated completely from that, without any apparent long-term neurologic deficits (weakness, slurred speech, etc.).  His mind was active and engaged, he did not have Alzheimer's, elderly dementia or senility.
     Jack did not exercise.  I never knew him to take a long walk when a short walk would do and I never knew him to take a short walk when a comfortable chair was handy. If he wandered away from his property that day in 2008 he did not walk far.
     Jack's mental health was solid.  Some would have considered him a contrarian, but he was not irrational.  About a month before he disappeared his daughter had died of breast cancer after a long illness.  He was saddened by that, as were all of us.

     We considered all of these factors while searching for answers to his disappearance.
Did he lose his balance and fall, injuring himself? Did he have another stroke, either fatal or debilitating?  Was he depressed enough to commit suicide?  Did he merely get confused and wander off? Or was his health not a factor at all...

BEHAVIORS OF MISSING ELDERLY PERSONS

From Project Jason comes this article about missing elderly, focusing on those with Alzheimer's or dementia (neither of which apply to Jack Gordon). 

Brad Dennis, Director of Search Operations for the KlaasKids Foundation, outlines typical behaviors exhibited by a missing person with Alzheimer or dementia:
• Usually (89%) found within one mile of the Point Last Seen (PLS), half found within 0.5 miles.
• Subject usually found a short distance from road (50% within 33 yards)
• Subject may attempt to travel to former residence or favorite place.
• Subject will not leave many physical clues.
• Will not cry-out for help (1%) or respond to shouts (only 1% response rate).
• Succumbs to the environment (hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration).
• They go until they get stuck.”
• Subject usually found in a creek, or drainage and/or caught in briars/bushes (63%)
• Leaves own residence or nursing home, possibly with last sighting on a roadway. May cross or depart from roads (67%).
• Coexisting medical problems that limit mobility are common.
• Has previous history of wandering (72%)
• They appear to lack the ability to turn around.

These patterns formed the basis of our initial searching for Jack.  Since his vehicle was found at the home site, we focused on the area within 3/4 of a mile from the site.  Our initial thinking was that Jack had suffered a medical event of some kind.  Multiple searches over the next week did not turn up any sign of Jack. He did not turn up wandering along the road. He did not turn up at the local hospital.