Ursula Watson

The Detroit News

Sterling Heights – — A man who has been missing for a month was found alive Monday chained by his hand to a tree.

Lawrence Kunz Jr., 27, who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was found in a wooded, weedy area near 22 Mile and Hayes in Macomb Township by his father, Lawrence Kunz Sr.

"They are calling it a miracle because he was in the woods for 30 days, and had no food whatsoever," said Lawrence Kunz Sr. "He was 20 feet from the road and he could have yelled out for help. There were people working on the road and there is a daycare center nearby."

The elder Kunz received a tip from a bulldozer operator, who said he saw a man near his worksite last week who looked like Kunz Jr. The operator had seen one of the many fliers the family had distributed in the area.

Kunz Jr., who was near death, was taken to the hospital.

"He was so dehydrated that if it would have been another one or two days," Kunz Sr. said. "I sat with him at the hospital all night. Then he was transferred to a psychiatric ward in Mount Clemens."

The younger Kunz had stopped taking his medication, his father said, and left his Sterling Heights home on a blue mountain bike. Police said he was last seen at 10 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Meijer store at M-59 and Hayes where he bought a tent and 20 feet of chain.

The elder Kunz said this is the third time his son has chained himself to a tree. Kunz Jr. disappeared in April, too. He had chained himself to a tree for more than three days until he was found by police.

uwatson@detroitnews.com

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