South Salt Lake police found an 87-year-old man with dementia wandering the streets Saturday afternoon. He had been missing for almost six hours.

“We‘re lucky we found him before it got cold and dark,” said Lt. Jeff Conger.

West Valley police began searching for Ruperto Chuga after he missed his doctor’s appointment Saturday.

Chuga left about 11 a.m. for his appointment downtown and the office reported him missing about 1 p.m. when he didn’t make it, Conger said.

Chuga suffers from dementia and has other medical needs, including dialysis, Conger said, and police were concerned about dropping temperatures. They weren’t sure how he was dressed because Chuga left home alone.



