Man missing since weekend is found

By Phil Trexler

Beacon Journal staff writer

BATH TOWNSHIP, OHIO

A Bath Township man reported missing last weekend was found Tuesday afternoon by a neighbor and rescue workers who heard his cries for help.

Arthur Cole, 81, was alert, joking and talking when he was reached by neighbor Jerry Schorr and rescue workers, all of whom trudged through about 300 yards of wetlands and knee-deep mud to reach the man in an isolated area off North Hametown Road.

Cole, an Alzheimer’s patient, was taken to an area hospital for an evaluation.

He was first reported missing about 10 a.m. Sunday when he left his North Hametown Road home. Dozens of volunteers, neighbors and safety workers had conducted searches over the past two days and more were planned.

It was not immediately clear how long Cole was trapped in the wetlands, located not far from a home he shared with his wife, Margaret.

Schorr, 43, left work early Tuesday and was outside his home when he heard moans coming from the wooded and swampy area across the street. He immediately thought of his missing neighbor and called Bath firefighters.

“I think almost immediately when I heard the grunting, I was thinking that’s got to be him,” Schorr said, sweat dripping from his head as he talked after Cole was carried to a waiting ambulance.

Interim Bath Fire Chief Tim Gemind said the terrain all around Cole made navigation difficult for rescue workers, who responded from the township and nearby Copley and Fairlawn. Their trek was about a quarter-mile and the thick mud made walking difficult.

Schorr believes Cole could easily have been trapped in the mud since Sunday morning.