THIS is the moment police found a retired schoolmaster who had been missing for two days.

John Everatt, who is 70-years-old and suffers from dementia, went missing in Durham City in September.

Police, mountain rescue teams, the Coastguard and RAF were joined members of the public and friends scouring the countryside in a huge search operation for the missing man.

The investigation was led by Inspector Andy Reeves, from Durham Constabulary, who has now met up Mr Everatt and his wife Christine following his safe return.

Speaking to Insp Reeves, Mr Everatt said: “It is clear that you helped to save my life. What more can I say.”

Mrs Everatt added: “John and I wanted to say a huge thank you to everybody who helped to reunite us.

“It was a very difficult time for all us. I was overwhelmed when John was found. It was such a relief.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support shown by the emergency services and wider community. How can we ever thank them enough?”

Mr Everatt, a keen walker, had set off to stroll into town and was last seen near the Town Hall before he went missing. He was found 29 hours later.

Insp Reeves said: “We became increasingly concerned for the welfare John. He was classed as a ‘high-risk’ missing person which means that there is an immediate threat to life and a pool of resources were utilised to look for him.

“In the back of your mind, you know that the longer a search goes on, the less likely it is that there will be a good outcome. Time is always of the essence.

“After John’s last known position, there were no reported sightings of him which was unusual and left a wide berth of possible priority search areas.”

Police quickly tried to gather as much information as they could on Mr Everatt, who retired in 2008 after serving 37 years as a schoolmaster at Durham School.

Insp Reeves added: “I had to take in a lot information within a short space of time. In this type of investigation you get to really know a person; you find out a lot of details about their life; their likes and dislikes, where they go and the things they do.

“It helps to paint a picture of the life they lead and you use your knowledge and intuition to direct the search.

“While our officers went door-to-door and spoke to locals, it became very clear how well respected and highly thought of John was in the local community.”

Officers scoured the search area and combed through CCTV looking for clues into Mr Everatt’s disappearance, while fire crews used sonar equipment to carry out an underwater search.

The National Police Air Service detected Mr Everatt on its second sweep and Insp Reeves showed the family a picture from the helicopter’s thermal imaging camera of the moment Mr Everatt was found at Frankland Lane.

Insp Reeves said: “It was a fantastic moment when we knew that John was safe and well.

“This is the first time that I have met John in person, despite feeling like I already know him so it is a special moment for me.”