One Week Later: Harvey Caplin Still Missing

Despite numerous search missions including helicopters, dogs, even snowmobiles, authorities still have not found Glencoe's Harvey Caplin, the 82-year-old man with dementia who went missing last Tuesday. 

According to Glencoe Public Safety's deputy chief Alan Kebby, missing persons usually turn up within 24 hours. Especially when the victim is elderly. Kebby says this is the department's first case of a missing person who hasn't been found in more than a couple days. 

"It's a tough one, but sooner or later we're going to solve it," Kebby said. "It's just a matter of what kind of leads we get."

The last reported sighting of Caplin was by the Edens Spur, near Northbrook and Deerfield, the night he disappeared. However, Kebby says there's no guarantee the sighting was actually Caplin. 

Additionally, Caplin no longer has the beard that is seen in the photos that were released. Instead, he only has a goatee now. 

Glencoe police have alerted all the hospitals in Illinois and Caplin has been added to a missing person's database. Kebby says the elderly man might be in a hospital somewhere, being treated for hypothermia or possibly even mental illness. Although Caplin is mobile, he can't speak.  

"In his heyday, it was not unlike him to walk five miles a day," Kebby said.

Police say he may have been seen walking north by the eastbound Edens lanes near the Spur. 

Authorities have already done a foot search of a mile-and-a-half radius around Calvin's house, they've used multiple helicopter searches to scan the area, bloodhounds and tracking dogs, snowmobile patrols and reviewed surveillance tapes of businesses that might have spotted him outside. 

Still, there hasn't been a lot of clues in the investigation. Police say they haven't even found footprints, which likely would have been hidden by the weekend snow, anyway. 

"From the search and rescue perspective, at this point we're looking to recover him more than rescue him," Kebby said. 

If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, contact Glencoe Police at (847) 461-1135. 

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