Long walk for missing E. Northport man found in Lloyd Harbor

Folks at the Birchwood Suites Assisted Living Facility in East Northport said resident Charles Collins likes to walk - and apparently, a 10-mile-plus jaunt is small potatoes for this 76-year-old.

Collins went out for his daily constitutional Tuesday, the home administrator said, but he didn't return by evening as usual.

He was found Wednesday morning in Lloyd Harbor - about 101/2 miles away.

"It's not an uncommon thing for him to go out for his walk," Birchwood executive director Glenn Rappaport said. "He's a walker. It was uncommon for him not to come back."

Collins told Rappaport he decided to walk to Lloyd Harbor, where he has a guardian, Rappaport said.

Lloyd Harbor police found Collins around 9 a.m. Police did not immediately provide more details.

Collins was not available for comment Wednesday.

"When I talked to him this morning, he said, 'I know, I shouldn't have done that. I won't do it again. I promise,' " Rappaport said.

Collins walks most afternoons, Rappaport said, and has walked from the facility on Clay Pitts Road to nearby communities like Commack and Greenlawn. He has lived at the facility for about two years.

Police said Collins left the Birchwood Suites Assisted Living Facility Tuesday and was last seen on Larkfield Road at about 1 p.m.

Rappaport said Collins almost always returns by 6 p.m. When he didn't, staff members went looking for him. They searched a three-mile radius but never dreamed Collins had gone as far as he did.

"I was up 20 hours straight, worried sick," Rappaport said. "I wasn't as concerned as I might have been about someone else, knowing who it was and knowing that he is a walker. Still, you never know. We're just glad he's safe."

Suffolk police said Collins suffers from dementia, but Rappaport said that is not the case.

"He's very with it, very lucid," Rappaport said. "Most seniors have some memory loss, short-term memory, but he's very aware. He even told police who he was when they found him."