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Elderly Pablo man found alive more than a day after he wandered away from home

by Michelle Lovato? Lake County Leader
| October 29, 2015 12:59 PM

Though authorities have not yet confirmed it, local residents are using social media to laud the wonderful efforts of law enforcement, search and rescue teams who located missing Pablo man Joseph Irvine.

This story will be updated with details are released.

Irvine is alive and well, sources said.

Lake County Sheriff's deputies were the first to begin searching for Irvine, 87 of Pablo, shortly after Irvine's family called emergency dispatchers just before midnight Tuesday. Within hours the Lake County Sheriff's Department called in a number of additional search teams and specialists in an attempt to find Irvine during a night that dipped into the mid 30s.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said that even though Irvine once lived in Pablo, he lived out of state for the last several years and only recently returned to Pablo. 

Irvine has Alzheimer's Disease and walked away from the location at which he was staying. Irvine has relatives in the area and was seen by a witness walking along Highway 93, emergency traffic reported. 

During their search, rescuers used Irvine's cell phone GPS to learn where it was last pinged, but even with the aide of Two Bear Air, rescuers were unable to locate him.

Multiple law enforcement officials called Irvine's phone number during the search, and on a few occasions Irvine picked up the phone and related to the caller he was on his way to various places.

Authorities were very concerned for Irvine's safety.