Journal staff

BELLE FOURCHE - A 58-year-old man who walked away from an assisted living center in Belle Fourche before Friday's snowstorm arrived at the Fort Meade Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Sturgis.

Belle Fourche Police Chief Tom Maunders said the man, whose name was not released, went for a walk about 3 p.m. Thursday and apparently started hitchhiking. At Fort Meade, he requested admission as a veteran.

Search and rescue crews, concerned for his safety in the cold, wet and windy conditions, spent hours looking for him. The storm temporarily closed Interstate 90 in the Sturgis area to the Wyoming border, and U.S. Highway 85 between Belle Fourche and Wyoming.