Missing 87-year-old man from Campbellsville found dead near home
CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Police discovered the body of a missing Kentucky man about a month after he disappeared from his Campbellsville home, according to family members.
Delmar Thomas “Tom” Curry, 87, was last seen at his home on Smith Ridge Road around 4:30 p.m. on April 1, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
Curry’s body was found on May 7 by a person who was working on his fence on Smith Ridge Road. The sheriff said Curry’s body was approximately 400-500 yards from his home and approximately 100-150 yards from Smith Ridge Road.
Earlier in the search, police told WAVE 3 News Curry left behind his glasses, hat and shoes at his home, but investigators did not suspect foul play in his disappearance.
Campbellsville Fire Chief Chris Taylor described Curry as having a “pretty decent mental status.”
Curry didn’t drive and lived alone on his farm, raising chickens and selling the eggs, his neighbors said.
On the morning of April 2, a neighbor noticed something wasn’t right when he saw Curry’s porch light left on and found the door to Curry’s open. They reported him missing and the search began immediately. Crews searched for Curry on land and in water surrounding his home. They also searched for him from the air.
“Obviously searchers were checking the area there, they were checking fence lines, fields and everything it’s just an unfortunate event that he wasn’t found,” said Daniel Cook, the Taylor County Coroner.
Ground searchers, K-9’s, crews on horses and ATV’s, they used a drone and even a helicopter and found nothing.
“It’s easy for critics to look at different things and think different things but thousands of man hours and hundreds of people put in tons of effort in looking for Mr. Curry,” said Cook.
Cook said Curry’s death still isn’t considered suspicious and thinks Curry could have had an undiagnosed health issue.
“We don’t know exactly what happened and I don’t know if we ever will know what really happened, but we feel relieved that they have found him,” said close friend and neighbor Donald Skaggs.
Skaggs was the last person to see Curry and said he seemed fine.
“It’s disturbing to wonder what all he went through with before he passed away,” said Skaggs. “At least now we know where he was and we know that he’s in a better place.”
The cause of death is still under investigation.Curry’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Copyright 2019 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.
