On Thursday, August 6, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a concerned citizen, reporting an elderly man walking in and out of the road on Tamiami Trail near Gardner Drive.
Upon arriving, the deputy noticed the man appeared to be confused and dehydrated. The deputy engaged in conversation, but the man was unable to provide any clear responses beyond his name and that he was “traveling to Maryland”. He had been walking for several hours and had not yet had anything to eat or drink (it was after 3:00pm at this time). The man was unable to provide his address or information for an emergency contact.
EMS arrived and transported the man to the hospital.
The deputy did a search, using only the man’s description, and found that he is registered in the CCSO “Take Me Home” database (which included his photo, enabling the deputy to identify him). Through this program, the deputy was able to identify the emergency contact, the man’s son, and inform him of his father’s situation. The son explained that his father’s memory function has degenerated, and due to COVID-19 he has been unable to get him into a memory care facility at this time.
The deputy then contacted the hospital staff, and thanks to the Take Me Home program, was able to provide them with the man’s home address and the son’s phone number, allowing them to coordinate with the son to get dad back home safely.
Take Me Home is a free service provided by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. It is designed to assist individuals with impaired memory function in the event that they become lost, and to safely reunite them with their loved ones.
To learn more about the Take Me Home program, contact Tammy Wilkie in the Community Affairs Unit at 575-5345.
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