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WEST VALLEY CITY — A 61-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease has been found safe again after going missing twice during a snowstorm.
Randy Williford, of West Valley City, was last seen walking toward the Jordan River Parkway at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, just hours before a massive snowstorm hit northern Utah. He was reported missing by West Valley police later that day.
Salt Lake police officers found Williford making a transaction at a bank near 700 S. State St. about noon the next day. Williford appeared to be "in his right mind" and told police he was waiting for a taxi to take him back to a hotel where he was staying, Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer said.
The officer who found him spent nearly an hour with Williford and notified West Valley police that he had been found but did not hear back from the department with instructions. Since Williford appeared to know where and who he was, the officer told him that his family was looking for him and that he should contact them, then left.
Shearer said the officer could not take him into custody because he did not appear to be a danger to himself or others and had not committed any crime.
West Valley police reported that he had been found, then once again reported him missing later that day.
Williford checked himself into a Murray hospital late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, and hospital staff notified police of his whereabouts, according to West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.
"He is safe, has been reunited with his family and is receiving medical care," police said in a tweet.
Officials are still unsure where Williford stayed during the two nights he was missing.
