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ST. GEORGE — An 87-year-old St. George man has been found safe two days after going missing — and following a pair of nights surviving in the elements because of car trouble, his family says.
Leroy Waldo Fitzell was found near his vehicle where it had become stuck in mud in a remote part of Arizona, according to his daughter-in-law, Jenny Devilliers Fitzell.
He was airlifted to a hospital and was expected to recover.
"Tears of joy in this family. ... Thank you for all the prayers and the outpouring of love," Jenny Fitzell said in a post to Facebook. "We feel so blessed."
St. George police said Leroy Fitzell was in Mohave County, Arizona, when he was located. The area where he was found is high elevation, with cold conditions and snow on the ground, his daughter-in-law said.
"He spent two nights up there and three days," she said.
St. George police asked for the public's help locating Leroy Fitzell beginning Wednesday morning. He was last seen at a gas station around 11 a.m. Tuesday with his Mazda Protege, the agency reported.
Before he was found, the family suspected something may have gone wrong when Leroy Fitzell went for a long drive somewhere in the region, which is a hobby of his, Jenny Fitzell said.
