Local law enforcement agencies team up to find 92-year-old Lilburn man

LILBURN, Ga. - The Lilburn Police Department says quick mobilization and coordination between multiple law enforcement agencies is what saved a 92-year-old man’s life Thursday.

According to Lilburn Police Chief Chris Dusik, Julio Martinez went for his daily walk on Thursday like he always does along Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn. 

But when he didn’t show up back home after several hours in the heat, his family grew worried and called Lilburn Police. 

"It was getting hot. I think it was hovering around the upper 80s, low 90s. He didn't have anything to drink, anything to eat. He had been gone several hours at this point," Dusik said.

He says at first Martinez’ family had been talking to Martinez on his cell phone, but he wasn’t able to tell them exactly where he was. 

"All he could say is that he was in a wooded area where there are multiple trees. He didn't see any houses and there's a creek. But as the conversation went on, he became incoherent and he hung the phone up. And they kept calling back and he just got to a point where he wouldn't answer the phone," Dusik said. 

After an initial search by officers didn’t pan out, they asked for assistance from neighboring agencies. 

Chief Dusik said those Gwinnett County agencies showed up in a big way.

"First thing we called for was Gwinnett County Police’s aviation unit. They have their helicopter that comes up and they have an infrared camera," he said. 

"We called for a specialty tracking K-9 from the City of Duluth, which has an amazing K-9 that specializes in human tracking, not a drug dog or a bomb dog, but a specific one for tracking people," Dusik said. 

He said they also got a drone from Peachtree City Marshals and help from the Georgia Emergency Search and Rescue volunteer group. 

With all those resources, officers were able to find Martinez’s shoes and glasses behind a Goodwill store on Lawrenceville Highway. 

From there they found a trail that led to a creek bed, where they found Martinez partially submerged in the water. 

"He didn't have shoes and his cell phone was a few feet from him. He wasn't able to access it. So I guess that he had lost all his energy and he wasn't able to move any further and he was actually shaking. So even though it was so hot out there, he's an older gentleman and we believe hypothermia was probably going to start setting in because of the very cold water that he was laying in for hours," Dusik said. 

Dusik believes if they hadn’t found him when they did he would have died. 

"We were going to stop at nothing to do what we have to do. We spoke amongst ourselves yesterday and we know we were not going to go home until we located Mr. Martinez," Dusik said. 

He says it just goes to show how well Gwinnett County agencies work together. 

"One of our citizens goes missing and we're having all these other resources from outside the city. And again, you know, that is a testament to the leadership in Gwinnett County for public safety," he said.