Jody Tarbutton of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, grandfather and World War II veteran, climbed into his pickup truck Friday afternoon to do a bit of shopping. The next thing he remembers is being in an unfamiliar restaurant. Tarbutton then approached several police officers who were eating breakfast and asked them where he was, and they told him that he was in Haleyville, Alabama, and that it was Monday morning.
The officers ran Tarbutton's driver's license and discovered that he had been missing for two days. Tarbutton was taken to the hospital and was treated for high blood pressure and dehydration. His daughter, Cindy Gatta, flew down from her home in Delaware to retrieve her father, who was nonetheless in high spirits following his misadventures. He was discharged from the hospital Tuesday morning and has now returned home. His flight home is reportedly the first time since the war that he has flown in an airplane.
Gatta called the safe return of her missing father a "Christmas miracle." "We never, never, never expected to hear the news that he was in Alabama… it's just been amazing that it all turned out so well," she said.
She also praised the hospitality of the people of Haleyville for helping her find Tarbutton. Haleyville mayor Ken Sunseri said that he was "extremely proud" of the officers and the community at large. "They were a tremendous help to the family," the mayor of the city of some 4,200 said.
Haleyville police say that they are almost certain that Tarbutton must have driven through severe weather over the weekend. They found hamburgers and a drink inside of his truck. The vehicle will be returned, but whether the veteran will also get the keys to operate it is not known.
