Helicopter in action: Police desperately looking for 73-year-old!

Helicopter in action: Police desperately looking for 73-year-old!

In Tuttlingen, the police became aware of an urgent case on October 2, 2025: A 73-year-old man has been missing since Thursday. According to local authorities, the missing man left his home address on Tuesday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. and there has been no trace of him since then. Police deployed a helicopter to support the search on Thursday, which flew over the area between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Search dogs from the Schwarzwald-Baar district are also being used to find the man. Information can be reported by calling 07461/9410; the police are grateful for any support.

“We have expanded the search with intensive measures because the missing person shows signs of dementia and could be in a helpless situation,” explains press spokeswoman Katrin Rosenthal. Investigators suspect that the man may have traveled a greater distance or used public transportation. Several patrol cars were also used during the search in order to cover as large an area as possible. Despite these efforts, the whereabouts of the missing man remain unknown.

Search measures and their challenges

The situation shows how quickly an ordinary day can turn into an emergency. In Germany, people are considered missing if they unexpectedly leave their usual place of residence and there is a possibility that they are in danger. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) registered over 9,420 missing person cases in the police information system (INPOL) in 2025. The BKA is tasked with providing support in missing person cases and is responsible, among other things, for searching for missing people and identifying helpless people. What is particularly worrying is that many of these cases are not resolved quickly. Around 3% of missing people have been missing for more than a year.

According to reports from Tuttlingen, the emergency services are trying to find the missing person as quickly as possible, before his situation potentially worsens. The use of a police helicopter is a clear sign that the search is being carried out at full speed. “The population is not in danger,” Rosenthal added, reassuring residents.

These extensive search measures are necessary because circumstances can change rapidly, especially for older missing people who may be suffering from dementia. The BKA has found in the past that around 18,100 children were reported missing in 2024, with the vast majority of these cases being resolved within a short period of time. Among young people, the number of missing persons ranged from 69,400 to 87,300 per year, while many cases of unaccompanied refugee minors also attract the attention of investigators.

With every minute that passes, concern for the missing man's well-being grows. Police and local organizations rely on citizens' support to solve the mystery of his whereabouts. If you have any information or notice anything suspicious, please do not hesitate to call the police. Together, the community may be able to help nip this case in the bud.

Further information and updates on the search could be followed via the official channels of the Tuttlingen police or via local news platforms. We wish the search teams much success and hope for a quick, positive end to this critical situation.