Missing Westview Manor resident found

On Dec. 3, Westview Manor staff alerted Peabody Police that a resident, William Jeffery Wilton, had not returned to the care facility and could not been located. When Wilton’s absence was reported, Peabody Police Chief Bruce Burke said they investigated Wilton’s disappearance, assisted by the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.

“Wilton was allowed to sign himself in and out of Westview and frequently used the privilege,” Burke said. “This time he didn’t return to the care facility.”

The investigation turned up some information that Wilton might have been trying to hitchhike on a couple of recent occasions and was thought to be headed for Oklahoma. Following the local investigation, Burke entered information about Wilton into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Local law enforcement was notified Dec. 4 that Wilton had been found in a small town southwest of Tulsa, Okla.