Courtesy photo / Donald Bennett, the 81-year-old Lake Helen man reported missing Tuesday by his family was found safe earlier in the day Thursday.

LAKE HELEN -- Donald Bennett, the 81-year-old man last seen pedaling his black trek mountain bike on Tuesday when he was reported missing by his family in Lake Helen, was found safe today in Orange County and reunited with loved ones, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

Donald Bennett left his house at 1210 Deer Run Court at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. His family was worried because he has Alzheimer's and takes medicine for the condition, but did not have any with him when he left. But when he failed to return home from his bike ride after an hour, the Sheriff's Office was called by family members. 

This story had a happy ending, though.

"A citizen saw him at a convenience store near the intersection of Piedmont Wekiwa Road and East Semoran Boulevard in Apopka," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. "The citizen had seen his picture in the news, recognized him and reported his location to local law enforcement. A family member was notified and went to a police sub station in Apopka to pick Bennett up."

Courtesy photo / If you see this man, Donald Bennett, reported missing by his family in Lake Hellen, please call 9-1-1 immediately as he has medical issues related to Alzheimer's.

LAKE HELEN -- The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating an 81-year-old man who rode away on a bicycle from his house near Lake Helen Tuesday evening and has failed to return home.

Donald Bennett left his house at 1210 Deer Run Court at about 1 p.m. He has Alzheimer's and takes medicine for the condition, but did not have any with him when he left.
His family reported him missing at 3:40 p.m. He regularly takes bike rides, but is usually only gone for about an hour.

Bennett is 5 feet 4 and 140 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a cream colored baseball cap with a Castrol logo on it, a blue shirt, blue polyester pants and brown loafer shoes. He wears a medical bracelet.
Bennett was last seen pedaling on a black trek mountain bike.

Anyone who spots Bennett is asked to call 911 immediately.

Recently, I spoke to a group of professionals about addictions and although I knew the material well, I still noticed that for about 2 days before and up until 15 minutes into the presentation at the conference I had the butterflies or what others call a nervous stomach every time I thought about giving the presentation.

After Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ it was only a matter of time before markets around the world responded with deep drops. The Dow lost more than 634 points here at home today and the slide will most likely continue. Usually the markets rally during a presidential speech but not today. Citibank shares dropped more than 16% today and BankAmerica dropped 20%.

When it comes to fishing, the bite is definitely in the early morning way before nine o’clock. 

NSBNews.net photos by Henry Frederick / Lisa Coghill of Lake Mary keeps her 18-month-old grandson, Jahki Hayden, in front of hold and by the arm as they reach the surf as vehicles begin leaving the beach late on this sunny Saturday afternoon with high tide creeping in. A 4-year-old girl ran into the patch of a pick-up truck earlier in the day, which came to a complete stop, though her momentum had her hit the front of the vehicle for which she suffered a couple of bruises.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 4-year-old Canadian girl was transported to Bert Fish Medical Center for treatment of bruises an hour ago after she darted in front of a small pick-up truck on the beach that had already come to a complete stop, a spokesman with the Volusia County Beach Patrol said. "The child darted from the east side into the path of the vehicle," Beach Patrol spokesman Tammy Marris said of the 1:26 p.m. accident, explaining the girl was running from the water's edge. "The driver slammed on his brakes and the child ran into the stopped vehicle."

SAMSULA -- If you are looking for something to do today either by yourself or with the family, check out a fun-filled afternoon at the Samsula Lodge SNPJ, which is holding a benefit fundraiser for longtime Samsula Road resident Pauline Tomazin who lost her home to a structure fire in early June.

The fun begins 4 p.m. at the lodge with games and activities for children and plenty of food with donations sought to cover costs and help Tomazin out. For more information, please call the lodge at 386-478-9949.

Allow no deity before The Lord: all else must thou deplore (Beware the false god like the pox: Ruperts, rupees, gilt-edged stocks);

OAK HILL -- The weekly Observer newspaper wrote a story about the changing of the police guard in Oak Hill. Problem is, the Observer wasn't at Monday's special meeting and hasn't been for weeks.

The Observer used facts eerily similar to what NSBNews.net had reported such as the policing being taken over by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office at 7:15 p.m. and Commissioner Dough Gibson collecting guns, ammo and keys from embattled Police Chief Diane Young and the other officers.

Question: Do you think Casey Anthony got away with murder in the death of her little girl, Caylee Anthony?

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick; Poll taken at Denny's restaurant, S.R. 44, New Smyrna Beach