missing person

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Pentagon Suspect Suspected in Shootings — The man whose arrest prompted authorities to shut down Washington Boulevard during the Friday morning rush hour is now being investigated for a possible connection to a mysterious series of incidents of shots fired at the Pentagon and various Northern Virginia sites linked to the Marine Corps. Yonathan Melaku, a 22-year-old Marine reservist, is currently being held at a Loudoun County jail. [Inside Nova]

Arlington Cabbies Stage Sit-In — Arlington taxi drivers surprised county officials by packing into a Arlington County office yesterday in protest of regulations that they say give the owners of taxi companies too much control over drivers. [Washington Examiner]

Pike ‘Bike Boulevards’ Generate Opposition — Some residents are upset about what they see as a lack of advanced notice regarding Arlington’s plan to build ‘bike boulevards’ on two streets that run parallel to Columbia Pike. Also: more details on how the bike boulevards would work. [Greater Greater Washington]

Bishop O’Connell Teacher Missing — A popular English teacher at Bishop O’Connell High School has gone missing. Tom Duesterhaus was last seen on Friday in Virginia Beach. [Patch]

Photo courtesy James Mahony

Park Police Looking for ‘Critical Missing Person’

By ARLnow.com

U.S. Park Police are looking for a man who went missing from the Lincoln Memorial yesterday afternoon.

Beatty Stevens is considered a “critical missing person” due to “several serious medical conditions including [a] non-dangerous mental disease and a respiratory condition.” He does not have his medication with him.

“Mr. Stevens is a 48 year old white male 6’1” tall weighing about 220 pounds,” police said. “He has facial hair. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt and blue jeans.”

Anyone who has information about Mr. Stevens’ whereabouts is asked to call U.S. Park Police at 202-610-7500.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Heat Advisory Today — The heat and high humidity is not relenting after a scorching Memorial Day. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the D.C region from noon to 8:00 p.m. today. Temperatures are expected to reach the low-to-mid 90s, while the heat index soars to as high as 105. [Weather Channel]

Palin Does Rolling Thunder — Sarah Palin invited herself to attended the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle gathering at the Pentagon over the weekend, causing a media feeding frenzy and a few hard feelings. Some organizers and attendees grumbled that the one-time Republican vice presidential candidate’s appearance created a political distraction from Rolling Thunder’s mission to raise awareness of American prisoners of war and missing service members. Palin was accompanied by husband Todd and daughters Bristol and Piper. [CBS News, Washington Post]

Missing D.C. Man Found Safe — Matthew Hill, a youth minister at George Washington University who went missing last Tuesday, has been found safe near his family’s home in North Carolina. D.C. police told a newspaper that he had traveled there — without contacting family or friends — for “personal reasons.” An extensive volunteer-led search and social media outreach campaign was launched by Hill’s friends following his disappearance. (His last known location was an Arlington gas station.) The concern for Hill’s well-being even extended into the sports world. Boston Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard, a close friend of Hill, was said to be continuously checking his cell phone for updates in the team’s clubhouse. [Charlotte Observer, Boston Globe]

County Lawyer Gets NYT Wedding Write-Up — Congratulations to Arlington County Attorney’s Office lawyer Brian Charville and congressional staffer Bridget Fallon. Not only did the couple get married on Saturday, but their wedding received a coveted New York Times write-up. [New York Times]

Local Opera Company to Shut Down — After 50 years in existence, the Arlington-based Aurora Opera Theatre will be ceasing operations on July 1 due to financial difficulties. Aurora is currently the oldest operating opera company in Virgina. [Sun Gazette]

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Where Are the GOP Candidates? — So far, Arlington Republicans have not been able to find a single candidate willing to run in any of this year’s six county government races. The last time a Republican was elected to the County Board was the late 1990s. [Sun Gazette]

Police Looking for Missing D.C. Man — Police are hoping for the public’s help in finding a missing D.C. man. Matthew Hill, 26, was reported missing on Tuesday. His last debit card transaction was recorded at noon on Tuesday at an Exxon gas station in Arlington. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to call D.C. police. [WUSA]

APAH Receives Housing Award — The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has been named “Developer of the Year” by the Housing Assocation of Nonprofit Developers. APAH received the award at a ceremony yesterday.

Arlington Gets Another AAA Rating — A third bond rating agency has given Arlington its highest vote of confidence. Moody’s affirmed Arlington’s AAA debt rating yesterday. This is the eleventh consecutive year that Arlington’s debt has received a AAA rating from all three rating agencies. [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Arlington Police Locate Missing Elderly Man Using LoJack

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are touting their use of LoJack technology to locate an Alzheimer’s patient who wandered away from his home yesterday.

It’s the first such use of the county’s new Project Life Saver – LoJack Safety Net system. The system’s implementation was first announced last summer.

More information about Project Life Saver is available here.

The police department just issued the following press release.

ARLINGTON, VA. – The Arlington County Police Department is pleased to announce the successful use of Project Life Saver – LoJack Safety Net to locate an elderly man last night.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., police were called to the 1500 block of North Danville Street for an elderly man missing for over six hours. An 85 year-old man, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, walked away from his home around 11 am. His family just enrolled him in the Project Lifesaver Program three days ago. Once police officers arrived, they activated the tracking system and the victim was located within fifteen minutes. This time period is especially important in frigid temperatures.

Project Life Saver – LoJack Safety Net is designed to track and rescue those with cognitive conditions who tend to wander. This service answers a critical need for protecting people at risk of wandering, including those with Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome and dementia. Eleven Arlington County Police Officers are certified as Electronic Search Specialists and Electronic Search Instructors through Project Lifesaver International.

Clients enrolled in the service will wear a wrist-watch sized radio transmitter on their wrist or ankle. The transmitter constantly emits a Radio Frequency signal, which can be tracked regardless of where the person has wandered – even into a densely wooded area, a marsh, a concrete structure such as a garage, or a building constructed with steel. When a loved one goes missing, caregivers notify locally trained agencies and they are dispatched to the wanderer’s area.

This service is available immediately. Families and caregivers can enroll their loved ones by contacting Project Life Saver – LoJack Safety Net at 877-434-6384.

Arlington Police to Launch Project Lifesaver Program

By ARLnow.com

Within the next two weeks, the Arlington County Police Department is expected to announce that it is joining the Project Lifesaver program, which helps more than 1,000 public safety agencies locate adults and children who wander due to various disorders.

The program provides police departments with LoJack-like tracking equipment and training courses that allow them to find wander-prone people who have been outfitted with specialized wrist or ankle transmitters.

The program is especially geared toward those with Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome, dementia, and similar cognitive conditions.

Project Lifesaver International, the organization behind the program, says its technology helps ensure that missing people are found quickly and safely, without the need to organize large, expensive searches. The organization says it’s responsible for 2,142 rescues in the past 10 years, with a 100 percent success rate.

It’s not clear how quickly Arlington County would be able to implement the system after the announcement.

Missing Yorktown High Grad Found in Fairfax County

By ARLnow.com

A missing Yorktown High School grad and athletic standout has been found safely in Fairfax County. Mikey Pinkerton is back home in North Arlington after going missing on April 15, his father confirmed this afternoon.

Mikey’s father said he’s grateful to the friends, family and strangers who helped out during the nearly two week search.

“I would like to thank all the people for their prayers and concerns… and for helping us through a tough time,” Michael Pinkerton said.

There were a number of reported spottings of Mikey around the Washington area during the search, all of which turned out to be false.