Story by Donna Thornton donna@southerntorch.com

Angela Wiggins doesn’t know how to say thanks to all the people who helped and supported her during a frightening time.

Last week, her husband Adam Neal Wiggins was missing for 27 hours – an agonizing period of time for a worried wife. But in the aftermath – after Adam was located and safely back at home – she could reflect on the response she received after reporting him missing.

Angela felt lifted up by the outpouring from her neighbors on 34th and 35th Streets NE in Fort Payne, and Adam’s boss and co-workers – the prayers and the earnest offers of help, and the work of the Fort Payne police officers who took the report, and the Valley Head police officers who located Adam.

“I saw concern in their faces,” Angela said. “They weren’t just doing their jobs.”

Angela said Adam left their home Tuesday “in medical distress.” She said she believes it was an accumulation of stresses that drove him to seek time away from friends and family.

About two years ago, she said, he saw a career end after 17 years with a company. They didn’t feel the job loss was fair, and Angela said the experience had a lasting impact on Adam.

He got another good job, she said, but he had to start over.

It was not the only hard time for the couple. Angela said they suffered the loss of two babies, 27 and 28 years ago, and never had more children.

There were other factors involved recently, that added to the load Adam was bearing, and it all built up to the evening of July 9.

“He just walked off,” Angela said, with no keys, no wallet, and no phone.

She was worried about Adam’s state of mind. When hours passed, into the early morning, without his return, she called police.

The Fort Payne Police Department made a Facebook post asking for the public’s help to find Adam.

“It blew up,” Angela said, with almost 1,000 shares from the department’s page, and received a flood of supportive comments.

Fort Payne and Valley Head police learned of the search, and as part of their efforts, the railroad was notified and engineers spotted Adam in the Valley Head area.

After about 27 hours away from home and out of contact, he came home safely. He’s had some medical help and is scheduled for counseling.

Angela made the following post on Facebook:

“I’m trying to think of a way that Adam and I can thank all of y’all. The prayers, calls, tests, visits, the people who stopped what they were doing and went out to search. Our neighbors on our street and the street behind us. Our town, the surrounding communities, were all active and caring, looking and supportive.

“My parents, in their 80s, (were) out driving until dark, trying to find their ‘son.’ Our work family at Plasman is just that – family. I had not met any of these people, yet they were calling, texting, asking me what I needed.

“The Fort Payne Police Department – I’m almost at a loss for works. Y’all were amazing! The time, the effort, the compassion, the worry I saw on some of your faces. Each officer, and there were many, that interviewed me had different questions and thoughts. The search for Adam began immediately, all through the night, up until the next morning. Then they sent the drone up, not limiting it to just around our neighborhood, but the north end of our town.”

Angela named some of those who assisted: FPPD officer Shane Freeman, the dispatchers, Det. Mike Corizzi, Jose De Socarraz, and many more; Lt. William of the FPFD, Valley Head Police Chief Brad Gregg, and the two officers who found Adam, and Valley Head Mayor Karen West, who also went out and physically searched, and the railroad engineers who spotted the missing man.

And Angela thanked Jesus Christ, for hearing prayers and anxious pleas to keep Adam safe and bring him home.

She said he wanted to address the situation publicly because she believes people do not talk about the stresses they face in life, and those stresses can become overwhelming.

She encouraged others who may need someone to talk to, or other help, to reach out.