Search for Lynn Perry moves into third day

UPDATE: 6:50 p.m. Thursday July 30. Searchers have spent the afternoon looking for any trace of Lynn Perry in the Route 121 area. Several worked through the torrential downpour of the mid-afternoon. Chester fire chief Matt Wilson told the Telegraph that he had some tired firefighters still out there at 6:30 p.m.  “We’re going to do the same thing tomorrow,” said Vermont State Police Lieutenant Timothy Oliver, “keep sending teams out and hoping for sighting.”  The Telegraph will continue to update as information becomes available.

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Three firefighters search along Rte 121. The third is deeper into the woods. Photos by Shawn Cunningham.

As the search for Lynn Perry of Andover entered its third day Thursday, attention is now focused on the area around Routes 11 and 121, according to Neil Van Dyke, Vermont’s Search and Rescue coordinator. “We’ve seen some potential clues including barefoot footprints along Route 11, west”of Perry’s home in Simonsville, Van Dyke, said early Thursday.

The search strategy has evolved during the first two days. “We focus on the statistics to begin,” said Van Dyke. “Most people in a situation like this will not go farther than a mile to a mile and a half and we covered that area pretty thoroughly. Then we expanded the area.”

The Vermont State Police helicopter that aided in the search yesterday is expected back today, although Van Dyke says that the full tree coverage makes it useful mainly in open areas. While the helicopter is equipped with infrared imaging, the tree cover lessens the usefulness of that technology.

A mobile medical unit used as a cooling tent. It is on loan to the Red Cross from Mobile Medical International of St. Johnsbury.

Tracking dogs – which look for a person by a scent the dog is given – were used early on without success, according to Van Dyke. “Air Scent” dogs, which alert their handlers to the presence of any human in an area, are used at night when it’s cooler and there are fewer people around.

So the task of searching in the woods today is best suited to humans. This morning, Chester firefighters were working their way down a 1.4 mile stretch of Route 121 from Glebe Mountain Road to Route 11. That intersection is approximately 3.2 miles from Perry’s home. This involved walking a line with one person on the road and several others – each within sight of the next – back into the brush or woods. They look for any clues that Perry may have been there, including footprints, broken plants and matted areas. Occasionally a firefighter will jump down into the ditch at the edge of the road to peer through a culvert. With temperatures in the 90s, the Red Cross is providing a cooling tent for searchers to rest and rehydrate.

According to Van Dyke, searchers will call out for the missing person, but the case of a person with dementia, he or she may not answer. “Once again, it’s hard to predict their behavior,” said Van Dyke.

Earlier reports of possible sightings did not pan out, he added.

Van Dyke renewed his request for the public to be on the lookout for Perry and report anything that might point to her whereabouts to the State Police at 802-875-2112. “And please check your outbuildings,” said Van Dyke. “It’s common for kids and people with dementia to hunker down, so take a really good look at your barns.”

Perry is described as a white woman with white hair. She is 5 foot 5 and weighs 140 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue pajamas and may be carrying a pink blanket.