Missing Wood Dale couple found in Deerfield

The 87-year-old founder of the Rosemont-based Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps Donald Warren and his 80-year-old wife Jeanette have been found after they were reported missing Tuesday, Wood Dale police said.

The Wood Dale couple, who police say both suffer from mild to severe dementia, had been the target of a widespread search but were found a little after 9 p.m. in Deerfield, Wood Dale Deputy Chief Mike Rivas said.

Deerfield police officer Raina Hall spotted the couple's vehicle on Waukegan Road near a Deerfield Fire Department station and pulled them over. Hall also called on medical personnel to evaluate the couple's medical condition. The couple are in good health and their family has been contacted, Rivas said. They were waiting to be picked up at the Deerfield Police Department.

Cavaliers Executive Director Chris Lugo said the members of the group are "beyond thrilled" the couple were found safe. "Don means the world to us at the Cavaliers," Lugo said. "He and Jan had thousands of eyeballs out looking for them. We couldn't be happier with the outcome."

Rivas said earlier Wednesday night the couple had been seen at a combined Dunkin' Donuts and gas station on the corner of Irving Park Road and Western Avenue in Chicago Wednesday afternoon. The couple were there from 3 to 5 p.m., Rivas said, and they said they were waiting for a doctor's appointment. After leaving the Dunkin' Donuts, the couple reportedly headed north on Western Avenue, Rivas said.

Rivas said a family member who lives with the couple told police they left home Tuesday morning in their silver Dodge Caravan to go to a doctor's appointment scheduled at 11:45 a.m. The family member, who works off hours, didn't see the couple around dinner time and thought they had gone out to eat. After the couple still hadn't returned at 1:20 a.m., the relative called police to report them missing, Rivas said.

A Cary police officer saw the couple around 1 a.m. at a gas station. The officer reported that Donald Warren asked for directions back to Wood Dale and indicated they were planning to stay at a hotel for the night. Security camera footage shows the couple in their van leaving the gas station and heading east on Route 14.

Rivas said detectives spread out between Wood Dale and Cary and distributed leaflets. Cavaliers President Adolph DeGrauwe said members of the organization joined the search, "scouring" a 20-mile radius of the couple's Wood Dale home. Members also searched each spot where the couple were reportedly seen.

• Daily Herald staff writer Erin Hegarty contributed to this report.