A thirteen year old Wren Middle School student (l) Tallin Magruder looks on as rescuers aid a 72 year old man who wandered off from his home Sunday afternoon. The man, who suffers from dementia had gone for a walk and did not return. He was located about three hours later by Magruder in a heavily wooded area where even the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office helicopter could not see him. Magruder had climbed a tree in an effort to help look for the man when he spotted him laying in a gully. The man was transported by Pelzer EMS (Photo by David Rogers)
Teen helps find missing man – The efforts of Tallin Magruder, a 13-year-old student at Wren Middle School, were instrumental in locating a 72 year old man who had wandered off from his home Sunday afternoon and fallen into a gully.
Barry Thrasher , of Hunt Road, Easley, was reported missing around 3 p.m. Sunday. He was taking a routine walk around the area, according to Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Lt. Sheila Cole.
According to reports, Magruder went to the woods to help search for the missing man after his grandfather told him about the search. Anderson County Sheriff’s Deputies, K9 units, a helicopter and the County’s Technical Rescue Team were also involved.
McGruder climbed several trees in an attempt to get a better view of the area and around 7 p.m. he spotted a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye which turned out to be the missing man’s shirt.
Magruder flagged down Journal photographer David Rogers who was also helping with the search.
“Magruder flagged me down as I was riding on Wrentree Drive looking for the man,” Rogers said. “I called a deputy on the phone, asked him to have the chopper to circle again and look for my truck parked on the roadway and the teen and I would be off their 9 o’clock in the woods with the man. The chopper saw my truck and directed the rescuers in to us by ground.”
Thrasher had fallen in a culvert a few streets from the home where he was last seen.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s helicopter had flown over the area but did not spot Magruder or Thrasher due to thick brush and pine trees in the area.
Anderson County Sheriff’s K9 handler Kevin Evatt was in the home on Hunt Road with Thrasher’s wife preparing a fresh tracking dog for the search when the missing man was found.
