Crews search for man missing in the Adirondacks

Police are searching the Adirondacks for a missing man.

Crews have been combing the area since July 5. So far, more than 3,000 hours and 300 volunteers have gone into the hunt for Bruce Waite, 48, of Bangor, New York. Police say Waite was last seen June 18 in the St. Regis Falls area.

"His family members are concerned for his welfare," New York State Tpr. Jennifer Fleishman said. "It's important that we find him."

Waite's last known point was around Slush Pond Road in Paul Smiths. That's where police have focused their search effort.

"In the evening hours of July 5th, his vehicle was located, some of his personal effects were found inside and we did locate his car keys," Fleishman said.

Crews are using three types of search techniques.

"We have a type one search which is really a hasty search with well-trained people looking for tracks and signs," said Lt. Julie Harjung of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Mainly, this search will cover trails and roads trying to determine what direction Waite was heading in. So far, they have covered 85 acres using a type one search.

"A type two search is fairly spread out but still working in conjunction with each other, where people are walking through the woods together," Harjung explained.

The type two search helped police cover 627 more acres.

Type three has covered 789 acres.

"Then we're doing a type three search which is essentially shoulder to shoulder, I can see your feet so that we know we're seeing every bit of evidence that might possibly be there," Harjung said.

They use markers and twine to mark locations after every search.

"All of that gets documented so that we can see if there are any holes that we might have missed looking for him," Harjung said.

Multiple state agencies have arrived at the Paul Smiths-Gabriel volunteer fire department to help with the search, battling rugged terrain and blistering heat.

"We've had a couple incidences of heat exhaustion already where we've had to pull people out of the field and allow them to evaluate them medically and allow them to cool down and relax," Harjung said.

Crews plan to continue the search throughout the week.

"It's a live search until proven otherwise," Harjung said.

They start around 8:30 a.m. and will go until they are in need of rest.

After Friday, they will move into a limited search but they said they never stop searching until the missing person is found.

Bruce Waite is described as 5-feet-5-inches tall and about 145 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He has a spider skull tattoo on his left hand and a tattoo of a bear on his right shoulder. He was last seen wearing a flannel shirt and blue jeans.

If you have traveled in the area over the last few weeks and think you might have seen Waite, police want to hear from you. Call the New York State Police at 518-873-2750 or the DEC at 518-897-2000.