103-Year-Old Dementia Patient Wandering in Severe Cold Saved by Bus Driver's Instinct

103-Year-Old Found After 10 Hours in Cold Snap
Article: "Just Doing What Should Be Done... Anyone Would Have Done the Same"

A 103-year-old dementia patient wandering in the severe cold of minus 11 degrees Celsius returned to his family after about 10 hours. It was thanks to the report of a bus driver who noticed the elderly man’s thin clothing. According to the police, Bang Mo (103), who lives in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, left his home without his sleeping family’s knowledge at around 5:37 a.m. on the 24th. When the family realized Bang was missing, they quickly reported it to the police, who immediately began searching for him. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency even sent a text message to citizens saying, “We are looking for 103-year-old Bang XX (real name) wandering in Dongdaemun-gu,” including a description of his appearance.

[Image source=KBS news screen capture]

That day, Seoul’s lowest temperature was minus 11.2 degrees Celsius, and the highest was minus 3.7 degrees Celsius, with strong winds making the perceived temperature even lower. As the family’s worry deepened, Bang was found near Seongdong-gu, not Dongdaemun-gu, after wandering around various parts of Seoul. It was understood that he traveled across the Han River to Gangnam-gu by public transportation and then crossed back over the Han River to near Seoul Forest.

Bang was found thanks to the report of bus driver Kim Suhyun. At a bus stop in Seocho-gu, Bang, wearing thin clothes, staggered onto the bus, did not pay the fare, and spoke incoherently, which caught Kim’s attention. Kim asked Bang his destination, and when Bang answered a park not on the route, Kim reported to the police, saying, “There is an elderly person suspected of having dementia on the bus.”

Kim stopped the bus at the stop and waited for 15 minutes until police officers from the Seoul Forest Police Substation of Seongdong Police Station arrived and took Bang into custody. This was around 3:20 p.m., about 10 hours after Bang left home. The police said, “Considering that Bang is extremely elderly and was exposed to the cold for a long time, we requested cooperation from the fire department to check his health condition,” and “After confirming there were no health issues, he was handed over to his family.”

Bang’s family later contacted Kim to express their gratitude. Kim told KBS on the 25th, “Since he was speaking incoherently, I thought I had to make a judgment myself,” and added, “It was the right thing to do, and anyone would have done the same.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.