NEW MARTINSVILLE - The body of a Parkersburg man found in the woods in Wetzel County has been sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy, the Wetzel County sheriff said Saturday.
Donald Rapson, 82, Mount Vernon Circle, who has Alzheimer's Disease, was found about 200 yards from where he abandoned his van on Blake Ridge on West Virginia 2, Sheriff James Hoskins said.
Rapson was last seen Tuesday morning in Parkersburg where he was shopping with wife. He returned to his van to get something, but instead drove off in his 2004 Ford Freestar, according to Lt. John Young of the Parkersburg Police Department detective bureau.
A search began immediately after Rapson's van was found. He was found at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
Foul play is not suspected, Hoskins said. Rapson apparently tried to take shelter from the bitter cold under logs and a brush pile, he said.
Rapson was covered with snow, which hid the body and made it difficult for searchers, Hoskins said.
"They did an excellent job for the conditions they had to work with," Hoskins said.
The body was sent to the medical examiner in Charleston, he said.
Participating in the search were deputies from Wetzel County, West Virginia State Police, the Red Cross, firefighters and volunteers including a helicopter search team from the Wood County Sheriff's Department. The search was hampered by frigid temperatures.
