Ridgefield Police received a call at approximately 3:15pm yesterday, November 16, reporting that there was a suspicious truck parked alongside Bennett’s Pond Road between Rt 7 and Bennett’s Pond park. “The vehicle was parked on the right shoulder of the road and the trucks driver-side door was open,” explained Ridgefield Police Captain Jeff Kreitz. In addition, Kreitz said, “There were valuables inside and the keys were in the ignition."
Ridgefield Police found shoes in the woods, a short distance from the vehicle, but could not located the individual.
“This immediately it became suspicious to us,” said Kreitz.
After doing some background information, Ridgefield Police determined the vehicle was registered out of Saranac, NY and was operated by a 34 year male. "We were concerned about the well-being of the individual, and I can’t expand on that,” said Kreitz.
Based on evidence found, Ridgefield Police believed that the individual was somewhere in the woods. “We called dogs in from Brookfield and Bethel, and our K-9’s were working as well,” said Kreitz.
Due to the dark setting in and temperature dropping, Kreitz said, “We contacted Westchester County for their helicopter assistance because it's a vast area and heavily wooded.”
In addition to a helicopter, Westchester County Police arrived in Ridgefield via squad car. “The also brought a K-9,” said Kreitz.
As the search was underway, Ridgefield Police received a call reporting a male walking along Route 7. “The call came in at about 7:00 pm and we believed it was the male we were looking for,” explained Kreitz.
"The person who called us had seen the person walking along Route 7 about 10 minutes before making the call," said Kreitz. The male had since walked to a business located Route 7 and contacted a cab.