By MATT ERICKSON
Staff Writer

A 76-year-old Wadena man missing since Monday was found Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area about five miles northeast of Wadena.

Wadena Police Chief Bruce Uselman said David Delano Paulson was lying on the ground when Wadena County sheriff's deputies found him about 2 p.m. He was wet and hypothermic, with a body temperature of about 88 degrees.

Paulson was transported to Tri-County Hospital but his condition wasn't known Wednesday night.

"He was talking to officers when he was located but we really don't know how he is doing yet," Uselman said. "Hopefully everything works out in the long run."

It wasn't known where Paulson had been since he was last seen Monday at his home in Wadena or how long he had been lying in the wooded area, located on the edge of a field north of Wadena County Road 4 and just off 160th Street. The Wadena Police Department reported Paulson suffered from dementia and diabetes and was in need of medication for his diabetes.

Paulson's vehicle was located about noon Wednesday by sheriff's deputies. Sheriff Mike Carr said Paulson's vehicle was stuck in snow on a minimum maintenance road.

Carr said there were tracks all over the field and he believed deputies were in the right place at the right time.

"It was like finding a needle in a haystack that they came across the right tracks," Carr said.

Uselman said when Paulson was reported missing Wednesday morning his police officers and sheriff's deputies started checking minimum maintenance roads, especially roads that aren't often traveled.

"We had snow to work with and a lot of tracks. It took us a little while to locate where he was at," Uselman said.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.