James Ballantyne: Search for missing 87-year-old man with dementia in Wagin enters third day

The search for the missing 87-year-old man who lives with dementia has entered its third day after crews failed to locate him overnight.

James Ballantyne has not been seen since 10.30am on Saturday morning, when he left his home to go for a walk and failed to return.

He has now been missing for almost 48 hours and is believed to be moving on foot, with a huge team of SES, police and community members resuming their land and air search in the area around Wagin on Monday.

Search operations honed in on an area near Lake Parkeyerring, about 7km south of Wagin, following a sighting from a passing motorist and another area north between Wagin and Narrogin.

Mr Ballantyne’s worried family contacted police on Saturday evening when he never returned from his walk on Leonora Street, with a search commencing that evening and continuing through the night, including a nighttime drone operator and ground sweeps.

Police sent out an emergency alert asking residents in the vicinity to check sheds and outbuildings in case Mr Ballantyne had sought shelter.