By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
An 80-year-old man with early stages of dementia who went missing early yesterday from his Centralia home ended up at a hospital in Everett, although police aren’t sure why.
“We think a little confusion on his part,” Centralia Police Department Sgt. Stacy Denham said this morning. “Everyone in his family lives south; no one knows why he went north.”
Raymond E. Wolford is okay and back home with his family, according to police.
Police were called to his home near Providence Centralia Hospital about 1:20 a.m. yesterday when his wife realized he and his car were gone. Wolford has late-stage cancer and requires medication daily, according to police.
Officer Mike Lowrey said last night around 8:30 p.m., officers were notified by the family Wolford was located in Everett, about 100 miles away.
Denham said he apparently drove himself there.