Elderly Man With Dementia Missing Since Friday; Police Believe He Hitchhiked Out of Morton Area

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Police now believe the elderly Morton man with dementia who disappeared Friday morning has hitchhiked out of the Morton area.

The 76-year-old man, identified as Larry Thorsteinson, was living at Heritage House, an assisted living facility at 860 W. Main Avenue in Morton, according to Morton police. He was last seen there at about 11 a.m. Friday.

Thorsteinson is considered to be a vulnerable adult, and it appears he was taking medication for a mild form of dementia, Morton Police Chief Dan Mortensen said. Thorsteinson was allowed to come and go as he pleased from Heritage House as his dementia did not affect his awareness of his surroundings.

It appears that Thorsteinson was administered his medication, and did not have it with him at the time of his disappearance, Mortensen said.

Police “saturated” the Morton area looking for him and contacted about 1,200 residents with Code Red, an emergency alert system that called people living in the area, Mortensen said. Search and rescue K-9s tracked Thorsteinson’s trail to U.S. Highway 12 early Sunday afternoon where authorities believe he may have gotten a ride out of the area.

Before his disappearance, he told another resident at the Heritage House that he was going to hitchhike to Nevada, Mortensen said. Police do not know if he actually is headed to Nevada, or if he left with any money.

“We are reasonably assured he is not in the area,” Mortensen said.



Monday afternoon Morton police received an unconfirmed sighting of Thorsteinson at the White Pass Ski area. They were contacted by someone who believes they saw Thorsteinson Sunday afternoon at about 3:45 p.m. outside the ski lodge. The tipster told police that he escorted an elderly man, who he believes was Thorsteinson, inside the ski lodge. The elderly man told the man that he was waiting for a ride.

The sighting is unconfirmed, Mortensen said, and when staff closed the ski lodge later that day, Thorsteinson was not there.

The tip came from a man who said later recognized Thorsteinson from the missing person flyer that has been shared on Facebook.

The “SIRENS by The Chronicle” Facebook page posted the missing flyer on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon and asked readers to share it on their personal pages. In less than 24 hours, the flyer was shared more than 1,200 times in cities throughout the state.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call 911, and contact Lynnette Cannon at the Heritage House at (360) 496-6699 or (360) 508-5253.

Thorstein is a white man with gray hair who weighs approximately 180 pounds. He is 5-foot-10 and was last seen wearing a brown Carhartt hat and a brown Carhartt jacket.