Barefoot and lost on a rainy road with hypothermia... A 70s dementia patient safely returns home with police assistance

A man in his 70s who wandered alone in the rain barefoot has safely returned home thanks to the police's rescue.

On the 23rd, Seoul Police's official YouTube channel uploaded a video titled "Handing over a dementia elderly man wandering barefoot in the rain to his family." According to the video, in the early morning of the 6th, a man identified as Mr. A was spotted wandering alone in an alley in a busy area of Seoul.

A person in their 70s wandering on a rainy road. [Image source=YouTube channel 'Seoul Police']

At the time, despite the rain, Mr. A was walking the streets without an umbrella, barefoot and without a shirt. A concerned citizen found this unusual and reported it to the police. The police, who responded to the call, found Mr. A on the street.

When the police tried to communicate with Mr. A, they had difficulty due to his dementia symptoms. To make matters worse, Mr. A was not carrying any belongings, making it difficult to verify his identity.

[Image source=YouTube channel 'Seoul Police']

Eventually, the police took Mr. A to the local police station. Using a fingerprint scanner (a device that compares fingerprints with the police database to verify identity), they scanned Mr. A’s fingerprints and confirmed his identity. After contacting Mr. A’s family and waiting for them, Mr. A suddenly began to show symptoms of hypothermia and abdominal pain due to being soaked in the rain.

Given his pre-existing medical conditions, the situation could have become dangerous. The police immediately called 119 (emergency services), and the arriving 119 personnel transported Mr. A to the hospital. Fortunately, after receiving medical treatment, Mr. A was able to safely return to his family.

Netizens who heard the news expressed various reactions such as "Thank you to the hardworking police officers," "Dementia is the scariest disease in an aging society," "A good deed that seems obvious but is not always so," and "Wonderful police officers for the citizens."

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