Missing 71-year-old found entangled in barbed wire with dog by his side
Billy Kearse, 71, was reported missing before being found entangled in barbed wire. (Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office)
GAFFNEY, S.C. - A missing 71-year-old man from South Carolina was found entangled in barbed wire with his dog by his side.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said Billy Kearse was last seen on April 16. He was walking with his chihuahua dog to go fishing and had a tackle box and fishing poles with him. He was reported to have had a tracheotomy along with a voice box amplifier.
On April 18, authorities received a call that his box and poles had been found by people who were searching for him.
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Deputies then responded to the scene and found Kearse tangled in barbed wire along with his dog nearby.
Kearse was reportedly dehydrated and was flown to a loca hospital for treatment.
"We are grateful for the two citizens who were aware of the search efforts last night to locate the missing person and who continued checking their property this morning and notified us after locating the fishing tackle box," Sheriff Steve Mueller said in a news release. "Their efforts put us in the right location and subsequently officers were successful in locating him. Now we all pray for his recovery!"
This story was reported from Los Angeles.