Rory Harris, 61, physically frail and often confused, disappeared from his Henry County home on Sunday.
HENRY COUNTY, Georgia – A family desperate for their father comb the woods near their Henry County home every day.
Rory Harris, 61, disappeared on Sunday. He has liver cancer, is physically frail and often disoriented. His family said he was probably in the last year of his life.
Harris left his home around 12:30 p.m. without his medication, and his family has searched every day while volunteers search with bloodhounds at night.
They know that they are fighting against time.
“We looked all over this forest,” said his daughter-in-law Jordan Harris on Wednesday evening. “And there is simply no trace of him anywhere.”
Rory Harris and his wife live on Jackson Lake Road in Henry County, east of McDonough.
“We saw him on Saturday,” said Jordan, “and he was having a hard time getting out of the chair, so we don’t think he would have gotten very far.”
Jordan said Rory had his cup of coffee on Sunday morning, had breakfast – and then left the house shortly after noon.
And soon his family realized that he was not coming back.
“He put on his shoes and said he wanted to go home,” said Jordan, “but he was home.”
Jordan and the rest of the family can only wonder if Rory thought of Tampa, Florida, where he was born, or maybe the Navarre, Florida area in the Pan where he lived for many years.
Rory is a retired truck driver. They want to find out if he might have made his way to a rest stop off I-75 in Henry County to catch a truck driver somewhere.
Relatives on the Florida Gulf Coast have posted missing person leaflets with his photo and a phone number, and Jordan distributed leaflets to businesses throughout the Henry County area near his home.
Jordan organized the search parties in Henry County and uses her Facebook page to connect with volunteers.
One of the volunteers posts drone videos in case someone spots something that others have overlooked.
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The forests along Jackson Lake Road are huge and dense.
“We’re going deep into this forest,” said Jordan, “probably two miles into the forest and then just walking until we find a road.”
They said they noticed a rapid decline in his health earlier this year.
The man they know, the man they remember, was funny, engaging, “silly” and devoted to his family. He loved the roar of NASCAR races.
He wore a teal t-shirt that said “LMR Trucking”. He wore black sweatpants and black and white Nike shoes. He is 6-1,195 pounds, has blue eyes and gray hair.
“If he’s anywhere,” said Jordan, her eyes filled with tears, they wanted to know. “We just need a closure. And we just don’t know where to look anymore. But we’re trying everything we can. “
Henry County Police used helicopters and thermal sensors, sonars, and K-9s to search.
“Please help us bring him back, please,” said Rory’s son Chandler Harris.
The family hopes anyone who knows where Rory Harris is will call Henry County Police Detective J. Love at 770-288-8370 or the Henry County Police Non-Emergency Dispatch at 770-957-9121.
