SAFE Alert canceled for 65-year-old man last seen in Tempe

PHOENIX — Authorities canceled a SAFE Alert on Sunday for a missing 65-year-old man last seen in Tempe.

The Chandler Police Department said he was found safe.

When the alert was first issued, William Bertke apparently left his Chandler home in a wheelchair around 9 a.m. on Saturday, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety said he was last seen getting into a Lyft taxi near Southern Avenue and Price Road in Tempe around 2 p.m.

Bertke is described as being 6-foot and 135 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing glasses, a dark gray shirt, a gray jacket and gray jogger pants, according to a DPS bulletin.

The man has a medical condition that may cause him to be easily confused and become lost.

SAFE Alerts have replaced Silver Alerts in Arizona as a way to spread the word about missing persons who are 65 and older and missing persons who have dementia or developmental/cognitive disabilities.

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