Search in McAlpine Creek Park for missing Charlotte man: Car, wallet found
Editor’s note: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police provided an update on the search for Matt Sullivan on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
Dozens of volunteers and family members continued to search Sunday for a 48-year-old man missing for two days after he told his family he was going for a hike in a popular Charlotte park.
Matt Sullivan was last seen, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, around 1:45 p.m. Friday at McAlpine Creek Park, an expansive park and greenway area off Monroe Road and Independence Boulevard in east Charlotte. Sullivan was reported missing after not coming home though he’d told his family he’d be back in a few hours, authorities said.
Sullivan is white, 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 220 to 225 pounds, police said. He has brown hair and blue eyes, a beard and mustache and is believed to be wearing teal shorts, according to CMPD.
Sullivan’s family, in a FAQ page posted on Facebook, said his car was found at the park’s trailhead, and his phone and wallet were inside. The 114-acre Mecklenburg County park has hiking and bike trails, a lake and fishing pier, soccer fields and a dog park.
Search at McAlpine Creek Park
His family said search and rescue teams on Saturday cleared 12 “individual and specific gridded” areas of the park based on probable locations Sullivan could have gone. More than a 100 volunteers, police and the park’s staff searched the trails and ponds. And on Friday, thermal drones and a helicopter were used to search from the air, his family said.
Video surveillance showed Sullivan had lunch at Moosehead Grill in the Montford area, his family said. And traffic camera footage near the park has not led to any additional information except for the time Sullivan arrived at the park, his family said.
Despite the extensive two-day searches, his family said “no new viable leads have been generated.” Authorities are looking into the possibility that Sullivan left the park, his family said.
Missing person: Matt Sullivan
Sullivan’s family said police continue to follow every lead and encouraged others to walk a trail in the park to help in the search.
“He loved his Friday afternoon walkabouts and regularly went to McAlpine Creek,” according to his family’s post. “Always one for an adventure, he has been known to go off the beaten trail, so every effort to find him is greatly appreciated.”
Anyone who knows of Sullivan’s whereabouts should immediately call 911, police said.
Charlotte missing persons unit
Each year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Missing Persons Unit receives more than 3,500 missing persons reports, according to the CMPD website.
About 70% of those reported missing are between 13 and 17 years old, police said.
Of all persons reported missing in the city, “on the average in any given year, less than 10 reports truly involve foul play,” according to the website.
The unit has five police detectives, an investigative technician and a supervisor.
Police on Saturday also reported another missing-person case.
According to CMPD, 76-year-old Charles “Chick” Anderson was last seen on Friday at his family’s home in the 5800 block of Ryder Avenue, which is in east Charlotte. Police have not indicated any connection between the two men or their disappearances.
Anderson was last seen driving his white 2017 gray Dodge Caravan with Florida license plate JBV-B67, and his destination might be Florida, police said.
Anderson has been diagnosed with dementia, and police issued a Silver Alert. Anyone who knows of Anderson’s whereabouts also should call 911, police said.
