Fayetteville police have issued a Silver Alert for an 81-year-old man who has been missing since Thursday, requesting the public’s help in locating Ronald “Dave” Magby.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office and Fayetteville Police Department are working together on the search after Magby failed to return to his residence at a home along Forest Cove Drive in northwest Fayetteville. Law enforcement says he may be experiencing confusion or disorientation, a common occurrence for older adults in unfamiliar environments.
In NWA, summer heat and unfamiliar traffic flows can disorient anyone, but for an 81-year-old navigating streets that have changed or widened over the decades, it’s easy to miss a turn or end up somewhere they don’t intend.
Magby is described as white male, approximately 5-foot-9, weighing 170 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a light blue t-shirt and long denim jeans.
Here’s where you come in. They’ve listed very specific details on his ride to make sure nobody confuses him with another driver on the highway. If you spot it, they want to know.
Authorities say Magby is driving a 2001 gold four-door Ford Crown Victoria. You see these cars around Benton County all the time—often the taxis or police interceptors, but sometimes just regular Joes who appreciate a car that you can pile your grandkids in and still have space left over. There’s something about that aerodynamic shape and the unique exhaust note that makes it hard to miss.
Silver Alerts exist specifically to cut through the noise when an elderly person with possible cognitive impairment is missing. Rather than waiting for a standard APB to trickle down to local scanners or social media feeds, these alerts bypass the bureaucracy and blast a notification to radio stations and highway signs across the region.
This is kind of a big deal here in Northwest Arkansas. We have the interstate running right through the middle of it—high speeds, blind curves, and heavy tractor-trailers—that makes finding someone on 540 or Scenic Drive especially precarious. You
Source: 5News KFSM