Missing senior found safe

Local authorities received information this week that a Poplar Bluff man who had been reported as an endangered adult has been found safe in Mississippi.

The Poplar Bluff Police Department issued an Endangered SILVER Advisory on Oct. 21 for Robert Lee Coats. The 83-year-old had been last seen at 9:45 a.m. Oct. 20 at First Midwest Bank, where he had withdrawn a large sum of money.

After leaving the bank, police Lt. Josh Stewart said, Coats bought a 2006 Pontiac G6 from a local dealer and was provided with temporary tags.

“On the 22nd, he passed a check” in Mississippi, Stewart said. “ … Since he didn’t have an account at that bank in Mississippi, he wrote the check to an individual who did have an account.”

That person, Stewart said, endorsed the back of the check, as did another individual as a co-endorser.

After receiving the bank-related information, Stewart said, he contacted the Missouri Information Analysis Center and got information on these two individuals in Mississippi.

“That ultimately led me to an address for them,” Stewart said. “Then, I contacted local law enforcement in that area.”

When officers responded, Stewart said, Coats was found at a “neighboring address of those individuals and (officers) were able to make contact with him” at his rental residence.

Why Coats was in Mississippi, “I can’t give a good reason for that,” Stewart said. “How? After purchasing the car, that was the direction he headed.”

Stewart said Coats, who lives on Maud Street, had been reported missing by his nephew. The advisory issued at the time of Coats’ disappearance said he suffered memory loss.

“He was fine; the deputy made contact with him, talked to him and provided me with contact information where I could get in contact with him,” said Stewart, who was provided the address where Coats actually was found. “The big thing was that he was safe, and we could verify that he was OK.”