The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, OR., January 25, 1977, page 1

MAN'S BODY FOUND AFTER LONG SEARCH

The body of an 80-year-old man who wandered away from The Dalles General hospital Sunday night was found Monday evening, just a short distance from the hospital.
     The Wasco County sheriff's office had searched for Frank Bradford, Box 372, Lyle, throughout the day before locating the body at 5:19. His body was in a gully, about four blocks up a canyon southeast of the hospital, near a house at 1900 E. 23rd St.
     Authorities said the elderly man probably died Sunday night, shortly after he left the hospital. He was wearing only a bathrobe when he left the hospital just before 9:30 p.m., and death was probably due to exposure or hypothermia, Dr. John Skirving, county medical examiner said.
     The sheriff's office had begun the search soon after the hospital authorities notified them that Bradford was missing. The search was stopped at 3 a.m. and resumed at daybreak on Monday. Local officers said they were aided in their efforts by citizen band operators in the community.
     Mr. Bradford was born Dec. 14, 1896 in Lyle and was lifelong resident there. He worked as a laborer in the construction industry in this area before his retirement.
     Survivors include four sons, Robert, Portland; Eugene, Los Angeles, Francis and Richard, both of The Dalles; 14 grandchildren and several great grandchildren, and a sister, Mildred Staack, The Dalles.
     Funeral services will be Thursday at 2 p.m. in Gardner Funeral Home in White Salmon. Burial will be at Balch Cemetery in Lyle. Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer