Search resumes for missing Hamilton man (Ray Stirling - Day 2)

Concerns are growing for a Hamilton great grandfather who disappeared from his house almost two days ago. 

Raymond Stirling was last seen at his Halcione Close home in Flagstaff around 8pm on Monday.

The 84-year-old suffers from mild dementia and is of frail walking ability.

He relies on a walking stick that is believed to be the only possession he has with him. 

It's not clear exactly when the father of five left the house where he lives alone, his daughter Julie Caddigan said, but he was found to be missing on Tuesday morning. 

"He is quite fragile and doesn't walk that far. He's gone for walks in the past but never to this extent, he's always made his way home."

Family dropped him home on Monday afternoon after a family holiday at Cooks Beach. 

Help services were due at Stirling's home on Tuesday morning when it was discovered he was missing, Caddigan said. 

"He could have got up in the middle of the night and gone."

Caddigan said her father often gets confused and goes out looking for work in his previous profession as a butcher. 

He once wandered to the Pukete Bridge where he was picked up and taken into town. 

"He goes to supermarkets and butchers looking for work."

Stirling is of slim and frail build and likely wearing white sneakers with red stripes down the sides, navy blue track pants and is not wearing his hearing aids. 

He also has a wound on the right side of his head from a recent operation. 

"He hasn't put his hearing aids in so he may not be able to hear properly and may seem a bit disorientated.

"He didn't take his walker either, but may have taken his walking stick."​

He was likely to be on foot and may be hitchhiking.

"We think he is somewhere close to home or he has caught a bus which then opens up all sorts of possibilities."

Caddigan's family had spent all of Tuesday searching Flagstaff, Rototuna, Chartwell and river road areas, she said. Her brother had searched all night. 

"We're all good, we just need to find him."

About 15 family members joined police at the north Waikato police station on Wednesday morning to commence the second day of searching. 

Outside, Waikato police search and rescue Sergeant Vince Ranger said a team of 12 police and search and rescue volunteers would begin by trawling properties within a kilometre radius of Stirling's home on Wednesday, looking for clues to the direction he went in.

"The search theory would suggest it's the likely area where we will find evidence or where he may or may not have been. It's quite an intrusive search around houses but we really need the support of people to do that."

"It is out of character for Raymond, he is an elderly gentlemen with mild stages of dementia. He is not an overly able man who walks in a frail manner."

Anyone in the area is asked to check their properties, sheds and out-buildings in case Stirling has taken shelter there.

All of the reported sightings of Stirling were being collated and examined. Most were low probability except for a possible sighting near Horotiu which searchers were checking on Wednesday afternoon. 

"We are creating a team to manage those reported sightings as they're important to us and provide clues as to where he may or may not have been."

While searchers comb houses, family have been checking suburban shopping centres and the city centre, as well as around Ngaruawahia and Huntly, where Stirling had spent most of his past years working and living. 

"The family are very supportive and are obviously concerned about their dad, as are we."

Searches had covered the north Hamilton area and along the river bank, intensifying the search in the area around where Stirling lived. 

Although Stirling is described as frail and needs a walking aid, Ranger said he had ambled fair distances in the past. 

"It is surprising how far people can walk when they become fixated with what they want to do."

If anyone has seen Stirling they are asked to call 111, or call Hamilton police on 07 858 6200. 

Stuff