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Missing Luzerne County man spurs extensive search; still no sign

LOPEZ — Where is Walter Booth?

After five exhausting days, search teams have had no luck finding the 84-year-old avid outdoorsman who went out hunting alone on Tuesday afternoon in tough terrain near here, an area he is very well familiar with, according to John Yonkin, one of those leading the search effort.

When the elderly Luzerne County man failed to return home overnight, his wife notified authorities early Wednesday morning, and the search was underway.

His vehicle was located almost immediately at state game land parking lot 66 off of Dutch Mountain Road in Colley Township, about eight miles east of here, Yonkin said.

“He’s an avid hunter who is very familiar with this area,” Yonkin, who is Dushore assistant fire chief, said of Booth, a resident of Courtdale, a borough with a population of 800.

About a half a dozen dog teams, more than 100 Civil Air Patrol members and dozens of other personnel have searched for Booth, Yonkin said.

“We’ve covered 600 square acres, about one square mile around his car and have found nothing. It’s very rough terrain. Search teams have crawled under bushes and around trees. It’s very wet, like swampy conditions,” Yonkin said.

“It’s been a very thorough search. We covered much of the area (with searchers walking) shoulder-to-shoulder,” Yonkin explained.

In addition to Pennsylvania, dog teams and Civil Air Patrol members from New York State and New Jersey have participated in the search as have volunteer firefighters from six counties, Yonkin said.

A state police helicopter has been used in the search as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle, Yonkin said.

“We, along with members of his family, are very surprised that we have not found him,” he said.

“We were out all day today, about 85 people, along with four dogs teams and again we used a drone. We’ve had no luck. Where did he go?” Yonkin asked when reached by telephone early Sunday night.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross has been very supportive in providing food and beverages for all those involved in the search, Yonkin said.

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