HENRY COUNTY, VA – Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis is reaching out to the community for assistance in locating 79-year-old Kenneth Wayne Turner.
Turner was last seen by family members at his home on Massie Drive in Fieldale on Friday evening and it is believed that he left on foot, according to Sheriff Davis.
“It's believed at this point that somewhere between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, he walked away from his home,” Davis told BTW21 News. “Mr. Turner has some medical issues including being insulin dependent so we are concerned about his health so we have a massive search effort going on here today.”
Davis said concerns arose when he failed to return home, prompting his family to report him missing on Saturday.
“It's well over 100 people out here today. We've set up a grid and we're out in this wooded area along the highway looking for Mr Turner. We know Mr. Turner operated a business in the Maxway shopping center and often times walked from his home to that business so we know he was physically capable of covering good distances so we just don't know how far or where he may be at at this time,” Sheriff Davis explained.
Turner is described as 6 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds and has gray hair.
He was last seen wearing navy blue sweatpants.
“At this point, we want to discourage the community from self-deploying out to the scene and begin to search for him because the last thing we want is for another community member to possibly get lost in the woods, get injured or anything like,” The Sheriff added. “Please leave it up to the trained personnel. If you want to be involved continue to pray for Mr. Turner's safe return. Pray for his family as well and just be a good witness. If you saw anything. please call it in and let us know.”
In response to the situation, multiple agencies, including the Henry County Department of Public Safety, Virginia State Police, and Virginia D.W.R. Conservation Police, have joined forces with the Henry County Sheriff's Office to conduct an extensive search for Turner within the Fieldale area.
“At this point, we've not experienced any really cold temperatures or hot temperatures so we are optimistic that we were within a time frame that we could find him alive, get him the medical treatment he's needing, and get him returned safely to his family. We are optimistic,” Davis stated.
Anyone who may have seen Turner or possesses information regarding his whereabouts is urged to immediately contact 9-1-1 or reach out to the Martinsville-Henry County Communications Center at 276-638-8751.
