CLAY TWP — State police and firefighters this morning were to resume the search about 9 a.m. for an elderly man reported missing since Tuesday afternoon.

Burton Duerring, 87, was last seen about 1:30 p.m. when he left his home on Beaver Dam Road to take a walk with his dog in a wooded area nearby, police said.

Family members, who also live at the home, notified authorities at 4:18 p.m. when the dog returned without Duerring. Troopers, aided by a helicopter and search dog, were unable to immediately find the man.

Later that evening, firefighters from several departments and other volunteers joined in a more extensive search.

Some 80 people between 6 p.m. and midnight combed a wooded area looking for Duerring, said Chief Reid Campbell of the West Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department, who helped spearhead the search effort.

Searchers, some aboard all-terrain vehicles, looked between Beaver Dam and Timblin roads and between Timblin and Sawyer Mill roads — routes Duerring was known to take on his daily walks.

Two police helicopters equipped with infrared technology and a search dog also were called in.