McDowell County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Walker thought he'd seen everything in his law enforcement career, but nothing prepared him for the reunion of Hugh Armstrong with his wife, Ellen Maye, and daughter, Diane Black.

“He was sitting in our office, and soon as his wife's car pulled in he said, 'I know that car,” the North Carolina deputy said Sunday night. “As soon as he saw his wife, he jumped up and said 'That's my wife,' and ran out the door and met them in the parking lot.

“After that, it was a lot of hugging and crying and people just being glad that he was found safe and sound,” Walker said of the Saturday morning reunion.

Armstrong disappeared Wednesday, July 25, after leaving a note saying he was going for a walk around Stinson Lake in Rumney. When he failed to return, New Hampshire relatives notified authorities, who launched a massive search. Seventeen days later, how Armstrong turned up in Asheville, N.C. — some 240 miles away from his home in Clayton — remains a mystery.

“Once his family got here, they were trying to fill him in on their side of the ordeal,” Walker said. “He had no clue as to anything other than saying he woke up in a ravine and just started walking down this way.”

Armstrong bore no bumps or bruises, said Walker, who described the 72-year-old as being “in phenomenal shape.”

Walker said Armstrong told the first sheriffs he met that he woke up at night in a ravine, got up, started walking and came to a highway. “He originally said it felt like it was either in New Hampshire or New York, but he couldn't be sure,” Walker said. “He couldn't remember who he was or where he was from or anything, but he thought he knew someone in Asheville, N.C., and was trying to see if he could find someone he knew there.”

How Armstrong got to a McDonald's in Asheville is unknown, Walker said. While there, Armstrong heard a woman talking to her daughter, whose name was Emma. “When he heard the name Emma, it dawned on him that his family might be in Wilmington. He got a map and started walking on I-40 East toward Wilmington.”

About 1:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies encountered Armstrong walking and carrying a pillow case. He had no ID and said he did not know his name. Deputies checked his wedding ring, and found the initials “H.W.A.” They eventually connected him with a missing person's report.

gmiles@unionleader.com