An 83-year-old man was missing for several days after his flight from Florida to California was canceled amid the global Crowdstrike software outage.
Patrick Bailey was supposed to fly home to Sacramento from Orlando International Airport on July 21 after visiting his sister. However, his flight was canceled due to the Crowdstrike outage, which resulted in services going down for several major airlines and other companies around the world.
On the day that Bailey was set to fly more than 1,600 flights in, out and around the US were canceled while another 8,500 were delayed.
Bailey checked into a hotel last Sunday evening and left on Monday, the Orlando Police Department said on Friday in a public call for information on his whereabouts.
Monday morning marked the last time anyone would hear from Bailey for the next six days.
“We really are at a loss to figure out how to find him,” his son, Patrick Bailey Jr, told local outlet WESH last week before his father was found. “But he hasn’t shown up at home. We’ve had people check his house.”
Patrick Bailey Jr. also said his father had a back injury, which meant he likely could not drive himself back to California.
“I just don’t think he’s physically up for the drive of going all the way across the country with his current condition,” he told WESH. ‘“Hopefully this is all going to end well and we’re going to find him, but it is a reminder that time is fleeting.”
Bailey eventually showed up in Sacramento on July 28, a week after his original flight. The 83-year-old revealed he had taken a cross-country Greyhound bus but left his phone in the hotel room.
“Bailey was unaware he left his phone at his hotel in Orlando until he was on the bus,” the Orlando Police Department said in an update on Sunday evening.
His family told WESH they were relieved to find him healthy and in good spirits.
“Our father decided to return home by bus and began the long journey back without realizing anyone would be worried about his whereabouts,” a member of Bailey’s family told the outlet.
