George Winslow Smith, 81, was last seen at his Clark Loop residence in Morganton, North Carolina, on January 4, 2022. He is a white male, five feet, nine inches, with graying hair and brown eyes. On the day he vanished he wore a camouflage blue coat, a blue flannel shirt, blue jeans, and gray shoes, and he did not carry a cell phone.

A Silver Alert emphasized that Smith was believed to be living with dementia or some other cognitive impairment, which raised urgent concerns given the cold January weather. Early reports mentioned a possible older white Dodge Caravan, but later statements stressed he had no confirmed mode of transportation other than walking. Family, local agencies and South Mountain State Park rangers searched around his last known location on Pealot Road, including sonar searches of a nearby pond and watershed dam, without finding him.

He had reportedly been talking about wanting to go home and may have been trying to reach places from his past such as Hudson or Dudley Shoals. Does anyone in the Morganton area remember seeing Mr Smith or the older white Dodge Caravan around January 4, 2022?