INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — It was 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The sky was dark. Indian River County sheriff’s deputies used a drone, K-9s and all-terrain vehicles to trek through heavy brush to find any sign of Donald Keaton, an 86-year-old man with dementia and Parkinson’s disease, who had been missing since Sunday.
The area where Donald Keaton was found east of Interstate 95 on Wednesday night. PHOTO BY NICK SAMUEL
Keaton, an avid walker and retired U.S. military veteran, had gone for a walk on the trail leading to the Trans-Florida Central Rail Trail Pedestrian Overpass above Interstate 95. There had been no sign of Keaton, of Vero Lake Estates, for nearly four days.
Then, a sheriff’s drone searching for heat signatures detected a small red area hidden beneath a thicket of saw palmetto branches. Thanks to the drone technology, deputies found Keaton lying on his back deep inside the woods, about 150 yards from the walking trail.
“He couldn’t get himself out. He was breaking the palms and trying to put them underneath him so he could lift himself out,” said Keaton’s wife of 31 years, Joyce Keaton. “He figured if he could get out, he could walk home. He just didn’t have the strength to get out.”
“Donald! Can you hear me?” one of the deputy’s said on the body camera footage. Then, a few moments later, the deputy said, “I got him right here. Donald we’ve got you buddy. He’s alive.”
Drone technology
Sheriff Eric Flowers said the rescue of Keaton – who was missing for 80 hours – was incredible.
“Our team did an amazing job. In talking with our drone pilots, they were flying, looking for any heat signature,” Flowers said. “These guys spent over 26 hours of drone time. That is just unheard of. Without the (drone) technology, (Keaton) would not be alive today.”
Deputies Ryan and Kris Matthews, who are brothers, operated the drones. The drones have cameras and thermal imaging to detect heat at night.
The deputies, who worked the night shift, said they flew the drones for about five hours before they spotted Keaton in a heavy patch of saw palmettos.
Ryan Matthews said Keaton moved the saw palmettos underneath him, trying to get himself up. This left a small portion of Keaton’s body exposed to the sky.
“The drone was able to pick up his heat signature,” Ryan Matthews said. Ryan Matthews said the heat signature was small and could easily be mistaken for a small animal.
“My brother and I decided any heat source, no matter how small, we were going to check it out,” Ryan Matthews said. “There were several large pine trees. We brought the drone down underneath the pine trees and just above the saw palmetto bushes.”
The brothers said rescuing and bringing Keaton back to his family alive was a good feeling.
‘We found your husband’
It was a frantic search turned rescue that brought out several law enforcement agencies, relatives and community members. Joyce Keaton, 77, said she had already gone to bed Wednesday night when she heard a knock on the door.
It was good news.
“We flew to the door. (The deputies) said ‘we found your husband and he is alive. He was taken to Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital,'” Joyce Keaton said. “I was crying. We ran for our clothes to get dressed and get (to the hospital) as fast as we could.”
Joyce Keaton said the family was concerned that deputies might stop the search after a certain amount of time. But the deputies never gave up.
“This group of men and women. The compassion, the love…they were not going to give up,” Joyce Keaton said. “I’m so thankful.”
Joyce Keaton, wife of Donald Keaton, with deputies Ryan and Kris Matthews. PHOTO BY NICK SAMUEL
The wife also thanked the sheriff’s office victim advocates for giving her support.
Keaton was found directly east of Interstate 95 and south of the walking trail.
Keaton had ant bites and scratches from the branches. Keaton was expected to make a full recovery.
“He’s working on getting his strength back,” Joyce Keaton said.
Keaton, who loves ice cream, was enjoying a tasty strawberry milkshake while at the hospital, Joyce Keaton said. It was not immediately clear when Keaton would be released from the hospital.
It was unclear why Keaton drifted off the walking path.
Representatives from the nonprofit Alzheimer & Parkinson Association of Indian River County were working to get Keaton a Project Lifesaver bracelet. The bracelet contains a radio transmitter that allows law enforcement to track and locate the device with both ground and air tracking receivers.
“If (Donald Keaton) would’ve had the (bracelet) on, in 30 minutes they probably would’ve had him,” Joyce Keaton said.
What happened
Joyce Keaton emphasized her strong faith and ability to lean on God. She believes prayer is what saved her husband, who served as a helicopter mechanic in the military and was based out of Texas.
The Keatons attended church Sunday morning at Calvary Chapel in Sebastian.
“Having faith in God gives you peace,” Joyce Keaton said. The two then went home to the Encore Sunshine Travel campground, located east of Interstate 95 and south of County Road 512.
Keaton left the Encore Sunshine Travel RV park shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday. Keaton told his wife he was going for a walk, a hobby that was common for him.
“He loves to walk. He said he wanted to go over the bridge on the walking path. He was going to come right back,” Joyce Keaton said. “When he didn’t come back by 3 p.m., that’s when I went out. I went behind the Dairy Queen and walked through the woods.”
The Keatons, originally from Ohio, usually stay in Indian River County during the winter months. The couple had been staying at the Encore Sunshine Travel RV park for 25 years.
“It’s an annual tradition,” Joyce Keaton said. “The people here are like a second family.”
Gone walking
Surveillance video captured Keaton walking eastbound along 94th Street about 1:48 p.m. Sunday. The area is just northeast of the Encore Sunshine Travel RV park.
Deputies said Keaton then crossed County Road 512, walked to 102nd Terrace and headed westbound toward the bridge on I-95. A neighbor saw Keaton as he made his way east back down from the bridge, according to deputies.
The neighbor gave deputies a description of Keaton’s clothing when he later learned that Keaton was reported missing. Keaton was last seen wearing his retired military ball cap along with long dark pants, a long-sleeve shirt and dress shoes.
“We had just bought the hat the day before at the flea market,” Joyce Keaton said. “One of the men in our RV park…his name is John…he was the one who saw Donald at the trail. He said Donald had a colorful hat on. John took the sergeant right to where he last saw Donald. It was basically where Donald went into the bushes.”
Panic
Keaton’s disappearance prompted a multi-agency response, including the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Sebastian Police Department and Fellsmere Police Department.
When daytime turned to night, Joyce Keaton became worried.
“That’s when I started to panic,” said Joyce Keaton, who mentioned that her husband had never previously wandered off. “I knew he didn’t like the cold. He’s very fragile. That’s when I was scared…the fact that he was out there the first night and then the second night and the third night.”
Joyce Keaton said she was concerned about Keaton being attacked by wildlife including coyotes or wild boars. Joyce Keaton said she began to pray.
“I said ‘God, you can see where he is. Just tell us where he’s at,'” Joyce Keaton said. Joyce Keaton said her husband, alone in the woods, told her he thought he was going to die.
Keaton, laid on his back and looking toward the sky, also prayed.
Deputies issued a social media alert on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday notifying the public of Keaton’s disappearance and asking for help in finding him. Neighbors in the Encore Sunshine Travel RV park and community members also joined the search.
Keaton worked for RR Donnelley and Sons Printing Company for 22 years in Ohio. Before Parkinson’s disease, Keaton was an avid golfer and participated in the Great Ohio Bike Adventure, according to Joyce Keaton.
“He was very athletic,” Joyce Keaton said. “He was a mechanic and a machinist. He liked to fix cars. He loves walking. He’s a pretty good guy. He can be stubborn.”
Photos by Nick Samuel
-
- Community members thanked IRC deputies with special messages, along with snacks and drinks.
-
- Community members thanked IRC deputies with special messages, along with snacks and drinks.
-
- Community members thanked IRC deputies with special messages, along with snacks and drinks.
