Missing 91-Year-Old Man with Dementia Found 200 Miles Away After Wife Spots Him on TV

Michael Black, a Korean War veteran, was safely reunited with his wife after being identified in a news segment filmed at a Utah homeless shelter.

Michael Black, a 91-year-old man diagnosed with dementia, went missing from his Afton, Wyoming home on November 25, 2024.
After hitchhiking over 200 miles, he arrived at the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake in Utah, where he was provided with food, clothing, and shelter.
His wife, Avril Black, recognized him in the background of a Thanksgiving news segment on KSL-TV about the shelter's holiday meal service.
Authorities had tracked Michael’s journey through southern Idaho and northern Utah but lost his trail before the shelter confirmed his identity.
Avril expressed immense relief and gratitude to the police and shelter staff, calling the discovery a miracle and crediting a ‘guardian angel’ for his safety.