‘I’m glad we found you, man!’: Florida deputy finds missing 81-year-old man alive in retention pond

Daniel Waterhouse was last seen Thursday

Deputy Steven Jones found an 81-year-old man who had been reported missing in a retention pond in west Orange County. There had been concern for the man, whose name is Daniel, after he left his residence without his medication.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A missing 81-year-old man was found alive Friday in a Florida retention pond by an Orange County deputy, according to the sheriff’s office.

A video posted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office shows one of its deputies walking up to a west Orange County retention pond -- where he found Daniel Waterhouse and pulled him from the water.

“I found him. He is in the water, and he’s moving,” Deputy Steven Jones said in the video.

Waterhouse was last seen near Holdenbury and Bramlea lanes on Thursday afternoon, according to News4JAX sister station WKMG. There was concern for his well-being due to him becoming lost or disoriented without his prescribed medication, according to the sheriff’s office.

The video shows the deputy call out to Waterhouse several times and eventually, he begins to pull the man out of the water.

“OK, buddy. You’re going to be OK, buddy. You’re OK,” he tells the man. “... I’m glad we found you, man. Thank goodness.”

Orange County Fire Rescue arrived and took Waterhouse to the hospital, according to deputies.


About the Authors:

Carianne Luter is a social media producer for News4Jax and has worked at Channel 4 since December 2015. She graduated from the University of North Florida with a communication degree.

Brenda Argueta is a digital journalist who joined ClickOrlando.com in March 2021. She graduated from UCF and returned to Central Florida after working in Colorado.