FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Authorities declared local man Dale Pruitt missing Friday, three days after he told his wife he would “just pop into” Costco for a single phone charger and “be back before the pasta water boils.”

Pruitt was last seen on security footage Tuesday at 4:12 p.m., passing the membership desk with an empty flatbed cart and what witnesses described as “the confidence of a man who has never been here before.”

At 4:40 p.m., the Pruitt family received a text reading only “almost done.” A second text, sent Wednesday at 9:15 a.m., read “found a deal.” No further messages have been received.

“We have reason to believe he is still on the premises,” said Sgt. Renata Voss of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, standing at the entrance beside a command tent and a 48-pack of bottled water someone had already bought. “We’re following a trail of sample cups. Mini quiche, a pork dumpling, something with a toothpick. He’s moving deeper.”

Search crews entered the warehouse at dawn Friday, roped together and carrying flares, and reached the tire center by midmorning. Rescuers say conditions inside are disorienting, with no windows, no clocks, and ceilings so high that weather is possible.

Several shoppers reported sightings near the rotisserie chickens, where Pruitt was spotted Wednesday evening holding two $4.99 birds and appearing to weigh a third. “He looked calm,” said one witness. “He said he was ‘just grabbing dinner.’ He had a kayak in his cart.”

Dr. Ingrid Halvorsen-Bell, a senior fellow in Aisle Navigation Studies at the Midwestern Institute for Impulse Purchasing Research, said Pruitt’s case is textbook. “The charger is in electronics, which is at the back, which means he had to walk past the mattresses, the patio furniture, and a pallet of olive oil the size of a Buick,” she said. “At that point you are no longer a customer. You are a resident.”

“Every man believes he can leave with one item. The building is designed by people who know otherwise.”

Halvorsen-Bell added that the first 72 hours are critical, after which most missing shoppers either emerge with a 30-pound bag of frozen shrimp and a new appreciation for their own budget, or are absorbed into the food court.

Pruitt’s wife, Karen, said she remains hopeful but has prepared for several outcomes. “He might come out with the charger. He might come out with a hot tub. Last time he came out with a two-year supply of capers and no explanation.” She said the family has already cleared space in the garage.

Costco management said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned” and reminded the public that the store’s return policy would cover Pruitt “in most cases, with receipt.”

At press time, rescuers had reached the book table, where a crew member reported finding Pruitt’s cart, now holding a rotisserie chicken, a kayak, a 12-pound tub of mayonnaise, and a phone charger, untouched, at the very bottom.

“He’s close,” Voss said. “We heard him say, ‘Okay, one more aisle.’”