Joseph Nohat was last seen wearing a red hat and his blue, button covered jacket (photo courtesy of the Grande Prairie RCMP)

By Liam Verster

Missing Man

Search intensifies for missing elderly man

Jul 23, 2020 | 1:37 PM

UPDATE 2 (12:10 p.m. July 24): Nohat has been located in Edmonton safe and unharmed. More details can be found here: Missing elderly man found in Edmonton

UPDATE (5:42 p.m. July 23): Mounties say Nohat was picked up hitchhiking on 132 Avenue in the Arbour Hills area in the late afternoon or early evening Wednesday by a blue vehicle headed west. Anyone who picked up someone in that area at that time is asked to call Grande Prairie RCMP.

The Grande Prairie RCMP are urging the public to help locate an elderly man who went missing from the Royal Oaks area on Wednesday.

Joseph Nohat, a 67-year-old man, wandered off from his 24-hour care facility in the Royal Oaks area, and has medical conditions that require medication.

Nohat is described as being 5’7″ tall, weighing 260 lbs, and having grey/balding hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a red hat, jeans, and a blue jacket covered in buttons.

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Cpl. Luke St-Hilaire with the Grande Prairie RCMP says Nohat may be disoriented and confused, and wandered onto a nearby property to seek shelter overnight.

“So we’re just hoping and wondering that people will go out looking around their properties, seeing if there’s any elderly gentlemen. Because somebody that’s in that state sometimes may go and hide underneath a shed, or find shelter in a shed or underneath a deck. Or maybe just hiding in a large bush or large grass, and just try to seek shelter and hide.”

He says Nohat has never wandered off before to his knowledge, but in other cases people with his conditions have been found near bodies of water, and the public is asked to check around nearby creeks, rivers, culverts and the reservoir as well as their properties.

St-Hilaire says there is concern for Nohat’s health, and asks anyone who knows his location to immediately call 911.

“I suspect that, if anybody finds him, he probably requires medical attention pretty urgently. He’s got a medical condition that requires medication every 24 hours, and he’s getting close to that. So, I would say there’s a good chance that he would require medical emergency real quick.”

He adds that Nohat is a friendly but shy man, and should not pose any threat to anyone. If found, St-Hilaire asks that he be approached in a friendly manner, to ask his name and see if he responds, then call 911.