Officer Rescues Missing Man With Alzheimer’s From Ditch During Winter Storm

Life with Alzheimer’s disease can be hard, for the person diagnosed and their loved ones alike. The person with the diagnosis is an individual who should be given respect and a level of independence, but they also may need to be supervised to an extent.

It can be a hard balance to strike for caregivers. They want their loved one to feel dignified and respected, but also keep them safe and protected. For those living alone, it can be especially challenging.

The Alzheimer’s Association notes that changes in thinking after a diagnosis may put one at an “increased risk for harm, falls, wandering and/or malnutrition.”

We never want anything bad to happen, but when something does, it’s nice to know that there are first responders ready to step in and help!

In Vassalboro, Maine State Police received a call regarding a missing elderly man. 82-year-old Bernard Perry had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and, in a state of confusion, had wandered away from home during a storm.

The police explained on Facebook that they immediately began to search for the man. They learned from a plow truck driver that an elderly man had been walking in a specific area in the early morning during the storm, so troopers quickly deployed to that area.

With the tip, officer Tyler Harrington was able to find Perry in a ditch. It was dark and the elderly man was suffering from “severe hypothermia and frostbite,” but he was alive.

Perry couldn’t walk back to the car and Harrington wasn’t going to let him lay in the ditch until an ambulance arrived. It was still storming, and Perry needed to get out of the weather immediately so Harrington picked him up and carried him to the police car where they waited for the ambulance.

They said in the post that Perry was then transported to Maine General Hospital to recover from his injuries.

Check out the video of Harrington carrying Perry to safety in the video below: