Missing Man With Dementia Found

David Pearson, an 88-year-old man with dementia who went missing from his home on Whaley Pond Road (near the Edgefield County/Aiken County line) around three o’clock in the afternoon, Saturday, July 25, was found alive Sunday morning around ten o’clock. According to a relative of the man who spoke Monday to The Advertiser, the man was last seen Saturday when he went to feed animals for other relatives that live nearby but who were away on vacation. When he did not return from feeding the animals, family members initiated a search for the man. After about two hours of searching on their own with no success, the family called for law enforcement assistance.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, SLED, and a host of family and friends responded to the scene. Dog tracking teams as well as a helicopter equipped with an infrared system were deployed in the search; the helicopter was used during the nighttime hours when the official foot search had been suspended. The foot search resumed Sunday morning, and it was one of those early crews sent out to look for the man that actually located him near Whaley Pond Road and Exit 11 near I-20. He was said to have been sitting down, taking a break, and waiting for someone to bring him some water. The man was dehydrated and sustained scratches to his arms and feet as a result of his night in the woods. However, his injuries were not described as being life threatening. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment for dehydration.

Shots Fired: Drug Deal Gone Bad

A follow up investigation by the ECSO has revealed that a report of a shooting incident in a home on Martintown Rd., July 17, is a result of a drug deal gone bad. It is now believed that two vehicles were involved in this shooting which occurred when person(s) in one of the vehicles attempted to sell bad dope to person(s) in the other vehicle. The ECSO is looking for the two vehicles believed to be involved with this incident; a charcoal gray 2015 Dodge Challenger and a red SUV.

The Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home at 2551 Martintown Road, Friday, July 17, around three in the morning after receiving a call of shooting incident. According to the initial ECSO report on the matter, the female resident stated that she was awakened by the sound of multiple gun shots and bullets as they ricocheted off her house. The woman stated she ran to another room in the house to retrieve her child whom she brought back to her bedroom where the two laid on the floor. The woman said that when the shots stopped, she could see tail lights leaving the driveway of her home. The woman’s boyfriend, who was also inside the home at the time of the incident, reported that he heard approximately 20 shots being fired. However, when deputies searched the area, they located, among other evidence, 33 spent shell casings in the driveway of the incident location. The casings are believed to be those of a 40 caliber and 22 caliber gun.

No injuries were reported as a result of this shooting. However, a bullet from the shooting did enter the home through a front bedroom window. That bullet then went into a bedroom wall and exited through a wall in the living room area where it struck a vacuum cleaner.

A statement given the night of the incident by the woman’s boyfriend did identify a possible suspect in this shooting.

ECSO did confiscate evidence from the scene of this crime. It is being analyzed for any possible leads it may provide. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the ECSO at 637-5337. Callers may remain anonymous.