Search to resume in daylight to find missing 64-year-old Bellevue man

BELLEVUE, Ky. (WXIX) – The search for a 64-year-old man missing in critical condition in northern Kentucky is expected to resume at dawn Monday.

First responders will return to the Ohio River, as well as a wooded area between the water and their home in Bellevue, according to Mike Ward, Campbell County EMA response officer.

The search for Mark Bertram expanded into a wooded area from Sunday night into the early hours of Monday before it was called off at 3 a.m. because search and rescue teams were “exhausted,” Ward said.

Bertram left his home on Berry Avenue early Sunday morning and has not been seen since, according to Bellevue Police Chief Jon McClain.

A Boone County Sheriff’s Office K-9 followed Bertram’s trail from his home on Berry Avenue, where he was last seen around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, to Lafayette Avenue, where it ends at the shore. of the river, the chief tells FOX19 NOW.

Boone County Water Rescue joined the boat search Sunday night and used underwater sonar technology to try to find him.

“We’re trying to find him before he can cause any damage,” the chief said Sunday night.

Bertram’s family became aware of his disappearance around 2 or 3 a.m. Sunday, according to the police chief.

At 8 or 9 in the morning, a missing persons report was filed and the search began.

Mark left his cane, cell phone and wallet at home, the chief said.

He is described as 5’8 with white hair and walks with a noticeable limp due to a hip injury.

His family told authorities that he changed his clothes before leaving the house, so they are not sure what he was wearing, but he will have brown loafers, police wrote in a social media update.

Anyone who sees Mark is asked to call 911.

Campbell County Land Search and Rescue (LandSar); The Bellevue police and fire departments and the Northern Kentucky Technical Rescue Team searched the Bertram neighborhood and canvassed the area of ​​the 30 block of Berry Avenue.

Early Sunday, first responders warned residents in a social media post on the police department’s Facebook page: “Don’t be alarmed if you see flashlights shining in and around your backyards.”

Just before midnight, Ward told FOX19 NOW that two new K-9s would be joining the operation.

The search and rescue dogs are from Pendleton County Search and Rescue and the Kentucky Search Dog Association in Grant County, he said.

“We are still in the search process. We are not going to suspend anything for the moment. “We’re going to keep looking,” Ward said.

“The boss wanted us to exhaust all efforts. We have search and rescue units outside. They are still willing to move forward. As long as they are, we are going to continue giving our best.”

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