Kenneth Payne
A Ruidoso man who was missing for more than a week was found dead Sunday afternoon, the Ruidoso News reported.
“It looks like he was coming down the ravine behind the apartments in Inspiration Heights and got tangled up in some limbs that were down in the ravine and couldn’t get out,” Ruidoso police detective Sgt. Wad Proctor said of Kenneth Payne, 73.
Proctor said there were no signs of foul play and no signs of trauma on Payne’s body, the News said.
Payne, who suffered from Alzheimer’s but was described as an experienced hiker, reportedly walked away from his Ruidoso home on Jan. 20 while his wife was taking a shower, and he was reported missing that afternoon, the paper reported.
Proctor said Payne appeared to have died soon after he was reported missing, possibly that night, the News said.
“He seems to have just got caught in those limbs and died of exposure,” Proctor said.
12:06pm 1/23/12 — Ruidoso Man With Alzheimer’s Is Missing
Ruidoso police are asking for help in locating a 73-year-old man who is in the early stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Kenneth Payne was last seen in Ruidoso on Friday, Jan. 20, according to a news release by the Department of Public Safety. He is a White man with gray hair and blue eyes. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.
Payne left his home on Friday, and is known to frequent the Adobe Gallery in town, the release said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Ruidoso Police Department at (505) 258-7365.
