LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — What started out as an emergency search for a missing Lucerne man had a happy ending on Friday when authorities located him and his damaged vehicle not far from Highway 29 in northern Napa County.

Greg Restani, 74, was found at around 2 p.m. Friday.

Restani, who has dementia, had last been seen at around 3 p.m. Thursday driving his white 1999 two-door Honda Accord on Highway 29 in the area of Butts Canyon Road near Middletown.

His disappearance led to a Friday search by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office along Highway 29.

Family and friends reported early Friday afternoon that a California Highway Patrol plane spotted the Honda on the Old Lawley Toll Road, which splits off Highway 29 near the Calistoga Grade.

Restani’s vehicle was found crashed about a fourth of a mile off the highway.

A search and rescue team found Restani huddled in a barn.

Family members posted a picture of him safe and on the way home on Facebook a short time later.

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