Elderly man, 92, with dementia died of hypothermia after vanishing on trip to Tesco

An elderly man with dementia died from hypothermia after vanishing duirng a trip to the shops, an inquest heard.

Norman Carter, 92, was last seen leaving his local Tesco, just a short distance away from his home, but then went missing. His disappearance sparked a large scale police operation, which included drones, dogs and widespread searches in Sheringham, Norfolk, where he lived.

An inquest into the pensioner's death heard that the search eventually came to an end when his body was found on 31 May last year.

The hearing was told that Mr Carter was discovered dead beneath a tree in Beeston Common by good samaritan Alison Harvey, who had ventured out to search for him following a Facebook appeal.

She told the inquest: "My daughter showed me the post and it really had an impact on me as I hated the idea of Normal being out there on his own."

Ms Harvey said she had previously lived on the same road as Mr Carter so knew the area well. She added that when she found Mr Carter he still had a bag of shopping from Tesco, containing packets of sweets, along with his untouched wallet.

She said: "I was really upset as I did not want to find him like that - I just wanted to do my bit."

Police investigations found that when he had visited Tesco on 23 May, he had purchased a box of Heroes and a box of Celebrations. The last known sighting of him was on CCTV close to his home.

Giving a narrative conclusion, area coroner Samantha Goward said: "Norman was a 92-year-old gentleman and, although he had dementia, it was clear he was a quite active gentleman who took himself out and frequented shops and venues nearby.

"He died as a result of hypothermia after going missing some days earlier."