Missing 79-year-old Harnett County man found in woods

Authorities were looking for Gary Edward Gardner all day after he went missing Tuesday from his home on Ross Road.

Gardner was found at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday in woods not too far away from his home. He liked to take daily walks in the woods.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol searched by air and dozens of volunteers and officers from the Harnett County Sheriff's Office searched on the ground from a command post near the missing man's home.

An update from Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats' Facebook page said that Gardner was feeling well and had been reunited with his family.

"He is being evaluated by a medical team and will soon be in the comfort of his home. Thank you to the numerous amount of volunteers and emergency personnel from across the state of NC that assisted," Coats wrote.