Brighten Your Day

Officers Pretend They're Out For A Stroll And Walk Elderly Woman With Dementia Home

March 24, 2016

81 year-old Roberta always takes a daily walk down the driveway of her home in Charles County, Maryland, where she lives with her daughter. Once she hits the end, she usually turns around to head back up. But on Friday, she decided to keep going.

Once her daughter lost sight of Roberta, she immediately called 911 and mentioned that her mother also has dementia.

A group of officers were able to track Roberta down, but knowing she has dementia, the cops pretended they were out for a walk, too.

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The Charles County Sheriff's Office shared the photo above and wrote:

"We often talk about the rewards of police work. On Friday, we captured a moment.

Officers responded to a 911 call from a woman who reported her 81-year-old mother missing. It seems her mother left her house to take her daily walk up and down the driveway, but when she didn't return, things got a bit scary because the woman's mother has dementia. Officers P. DeBoe, C. Caywood, B. Morrison, Sgt. C. Black, and Cpl. C. Clevenger and his K9 partner responded to the scene and began a search of the heavily wooded area.

After 40 minutes, the woman was found. At first, she seemed confused at the sudden appearance of police officers on the tree-lined trail, and she asked if the officers were out taking a walk too. They quietly replied 'Yes,' after all, it was a beautiful day. And then she seemed relieved and told them she had lost her way. 'No problem,' said Officer Morrison who then gently took her hand and, along with the other officers walked her back to her house. Along the way, the officers made small talk with the woman, to make her feel at ease. When asked what the key to a long, healthy life was, the woman replied, 'Eat good and stay active.'

Officers encounter different situations every day. Some good, some not so good. In this case, a frightening situation for the family ended happily. For that, they were thankful. For us, it's the rewarding part of policing."