The search for the 63-year-old man with special needs who went missing from a New Hampshire nursing home Tuesday continues after a possible sighting Sunday afternoon in Dracut.
Police are looking for Jack Walsh. His sisters say he wandered away from the Pleasant Valley Nursing Center in Derry around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The family received word of a potential sighting near a Hannaford and Jimmy's restaurant in Dracut.
Walsh was previously spotted in Hampstead. His family is searching in Plaistow, where he grew up. According to police, he may have been seen at a Market Basket there.
"We grew up in this area on Main Street, so we obviously have a love of Plastow," Walsh's sister said.
His nieces are hanging flyers, talking to customers at fast food restaurants and asking people exiting the men's room. The family is concerned about plummeting temperatures as Walsh was not dressed for cold weather.
"Our grandparents, his parents, are both gone," said Walsh's niece, Allison Connolly. "We don't want to let them down. He was their world, so we need to find him."
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Jeff Ogliny, who owns the house where Walsh grew up, says his entire neighborhood is on alert.
"We're looking for tracks in the snow. We're looking for marks behind sheds, windows and doors. We're looking in basements," he said. "We've all got our eye out for him."
Walsh's family is growing more concerned by the minute, knowing his brown leather jacket and jeans aren't nearly enough to keep him safe as temperatures fall below zero for another night. He has not had his medication in three days, doesn't know any phone numbers to call for help and was not carrying any money.
"At the end of every day when it gets dark around four o'clock, we're hopeful, but you feel a little defeated," Connolly admitted.
"Unfortunately, under the Federal and State Privacy laws, I cannot give you any details regarding the resident at issue," a Pleasant Valley spokesperson wrote in a statement to necn. "The resident was at the hospital when he left without anyone at the hospital being aware that he had left. He did not leave from the Nursing Center. We are working diligently with the hospital and local authorities to locate the resident. We are also looking at our internal systems to make sure that staff is following facility policies and procedures. We appreciate the efforts of our staff to assist with locating the resident and we appreciate the community's continued support of Pleasant Valley Nursing Center."
Anyone who sees Walsh is asked to call 911 immediately, as he might be scared off if someone approaches him.
