OAKLAND — A missing Preston County, West Virginia, man was found dead Monday morning in Garrett County.
Willard DeWitt, 84, of Terra Alta, was dead inside his truck that was found overturned in the Youghiogheny River near Oakland, Garrett County Sheriff Bryson Meyers said.
DeWitt was reported missing Feb. 1 and was the subject of a Silver Alert issued by West Virginia State Police, which had been attempting to locate him. A Silver Alert is a public notification system designed to quickly locate missing seniors.
Meyers said employees for the town of Oakland located the vehicle along Herrington Manor Road in the area known as the “88” bridge, and contacted the town’s police department. The sheriff said his agency responded about 11 a.m.
Meyers said DeWitt’s 2024 Toyota Tacoma was traveling south toward Oakland when the vehicle left the roadway and landed on its roof, upside down in the river.
The accident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Accident Reconstruction Team.
Deputies with the sheriff’s office, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division, a sheriff’s office crime scene investigator, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Oakland Police and Oakland Volunteer Fire Department all responded to the scene.