Perry crews join urgent search for missing Leslie County man

Emergency crews from Perry and Leslie counties joined the search for 60-year-old Martin Fugate after he was last seen riding a red Honda 300 ATV on Lee Coal Road in the Wooton community of Leslie County. Fugate was last seen between 4 and 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, and the response quickly drew in agencies across county lines.

Perry County Emergency Management said the search would resume Saturday, underscoring how local emergency agencies often coordinate when a missing person case turns urgent in Eastern Kentucky. Crews in both Leslie and Perry counties asked the public for help locating Fugate, but officials stressed the need to avoid disrupting the search area.

The concern grew because Fugate did not have a phone and had reportedly been without his medication for 24 hours. He was also known to suffer from depression. Those details made the case more time-sensitive and increased the pressure on crews searching the rural road network around Wooton and Lee Coal Road.

By Saturday evening, Perry County Emergency Management said Fugate had been found and EMS was checking him out. The update shifted the case from an active search to a recovery and medical check, bringing a quick resolution after a day of worry for the agencies involved.

For Perry County readers, the search showed how emergency response in nearby Leslie County can become a regional effort fast, with Perry County crews available to help when the call comes. It also reflected the role of local emergency management in tracking vulnerable missing persons, especially when medication, communication, and access are all factors in a remote area.