Small part of Freeborn County was searched

Efforts to find a 72-year-old Austin man have come up empty, and law enforcement continues to seek information about his whereabouts.

Dennis Hanson went missing between 6:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. Monday from his residence in the 2100 block of Third Avenue Southeast. He was last seen wearing a teal colored jacket with a gray liner, a gray shirt, red baggy sweatpants, glasses and boots.

According to Austin Police Chief Brian Krueger, Mower County Sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday continued searching the area where they left off Monday evening. A bloodhound was used in that search. The Austin Fire Department searched the quarry south of town off County Road 4 and 540th Avenue. A drone from the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and a helicopter from the Minnesota State Patrol assisted their search.

After producing negative results, the search was then moved to the wooded area south of I.J. Holton Intermediate School, between U.S. Highway 218 to 10th Drive Southeast.

Another search was conducted in a small area of Freeborn County because a relative of Hanson lives nearby. It was thought possible he might have headed in that direction.

Police have been in constant contact with Hanson’s family throughout the search.

As of Wednesday morning, police did not have any search plans due to a lack of known locations or sighting reports. Police reported no further developments Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone who has any information or believes they have seen Hanson is urged to call the Law Enforcement Center at 507-437-9400.

A Facebook page, “Find Dennis Hanson,” has also been established for anyone interested in helping with the search. It can be viewed at tinyurl.com/dennishanson.

An interactive map of where searches have taken place can be viewed at tinyurl.com/dennishansonmap.