Sheriff: Missing Harnett County man found alive

The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued a Silver Alert for Lloyd Hall on Tuesday after he went missing from behind his home on Live Oaks Road in Coats.

A small army of local law enforcement officers and family members spent much of the day Wednesday searching for Hall.

Rollins announced that he had been found alive at about 5:30 p.m. Officials said Hall was alert and he will be taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

"We've probably had 300 people since Monday looking for Mr. Hall. A Cumberland County sheriff's office search team located him, and he is alive and well," Rollins said. "As I understand it, when he first got to them, Mr. Hall said, 'I'm thirsty.'"

Hall, a World War II veteran, was found in a creek behind a thick wooded area near his home. Investigators believed that he was in the woods looking for a property marker. Family members said Hall has lived on the property for his entire life.

"They called the greatest generation for a reason," Rollins said. "He was upright when they found him. It's just a miracle."

Wednesday night, Hall's family members were happy to have him back home safe.

"We are just extremely happy now," said Hall's great granddaughter Ashlyn West. "We just expected the worst and got the best."

Family members also expressed gratitude to those who helped locate Hall.

"I'm so happy and I'm so thankful for the prayers and all of the people who have searched so diligently for my daddy and I am overjoyed," said Hall's daughter, Judy Eubanks.