66-Year-Old MD Man Charged After Leading Wife Around York Fair On Dog Leash

YORK, PA. (THECOUNT) — Walter W. Wolford, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has been identified as the man facing York County charges after police say he was observed leading his wife around the York Fair on a leash.

Wolford, 66, was leading his wife around using a dog leash that was connected to her neck while visiting the York Fair. Witnesses said they saw him yank the strap resulting in red marks on the woman’s neck.

After detained by police, Wolford maintained he only gently tugged on the leash, telling investigators he only used it to keep his wife, as she suffers from late-stage dementia. Adding his wife had a knack of getting lost.

West Manheim Township police filed the charge against 66-year-old Walter W. Wolford, of Hagerstown, on Saturday, saying he had his wife, Catherine, attached to an 8-inch long red nylon dog leash and yanked the leash, causing her head to jerk back, resulting in red marks around her throat. source

Wolford, who was agitated and repeatedly said he was embarrassed about the situation, told the officer when the couple visited the fair last year, she had wandered way and was lost for 90 minutes. He came up with the idea of using a leash to prevent that from happening again.

He originally attached the leash to her waist, but it somehow moved up around her neck, he said. When she started to walk away and the slack became taut, he “gently tugged on the leash so she would stop,” he told police.

After consulting with the York Area Agency on Aging and the district attorney’s office, police charged Wolford with simple assault.

He is set for a preliminary hearing Sept. 28.