Hours after bizarre reports that he’d knocked on the door of a Blenheim home after amputating his hand, a Long Island man was found walking along the road and transported to the Albany Medical Center without incident for treatment for traumatic injuries.
According to the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call came in at 11:25pm Sunday, reporting that a man identified as William R. Mecca, 24, of Long Island, needed EMS services for an apparent traumatic hand injury.
When deputies and a State Police patrol arrived on the scene, they located Mr. Mecca’s car, but he had already left on foot.
An exhaustive search of the area around the home and a substantive area of Route 30 began immediately, deputies said, with the State Police aviation unit, canine patrols from the Village of Cobleskill, State Fire, Albany County Sheriff’s Office; Schoharie County Search and Rescue, Office of Emergency Service, and EMS; Middleburgh EMS, State Forest Rangers, the Blenheim and Grand Gorge Fire Departments, and multiple other fire departments assisting in the manhunt.
At 9:14am, almost 10 hours after the initial call, 911 received a call from a resident who reported a man matching Mr. Mecca’s description walking along Kingsley road in the Town of Gilboa.
Patrols and EMS responded and a short time later, Mr. Mecca was transported without incident to Albany Medical Center for treatment for his injuries.
An investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.