Missing Woman from Retirement Home
Search One
Portland, OR
by Nancy Walker
We got a call out Sunday night for a missing 91-year-old woman at a
retirement home. The staff had searched the building for her for 2+ hours before
calling the sheriff’s office. All 3 urban dogs responded along with 2 support.
Since I had no support, I stayed in the building and the others went outside.
The SAR deputy volunteered to go with me, and we went up to the woman’s
apartment. Ginger sniffed her slipper, which I had collected when we first got
there. She searched the apartment thoroughly, and then the deputy opened the
door to the hall and she went out and turned right. Within 15 feet her pace
quickened to a strong trot, and I knew we had a good scent trail. We went down
through 2 long corridors and as we turned to go down a 3rd, Ginger slammed on
her brakes and sniffed the apartment door on her right and waved her tail. I
told the deputy that the missing woman was in there. He knocked on the door and
got no response. He knocked again and used his voice, still no response. The man
from across the hall came out in his bathrobe to tell us that no one was in that
apartment, that it was vacant.
I told him that the dog was telling me that
the missing woman was in there. He said the apartment was unlocked but that it
would be dark, as electricity and heat were turned off. From the open door and
the light from the hall, we could see the woman on the living room floor as she
raised her head to respond to us. Her walker was standing beside her.
She
apparently got tired and laid down and was unable to get up again. Her voice was
too weak for us to hear. The staff was very embarrassed that they had not found
her, but learned the lesson to keep vacant apartments locked or search in them.
As I drove home, I wondered how often vacant apartments were visited with
prospective tenants. She could have died in there from hypothermia and
dehydration. So a successful search. It is a good feeling.
K-9
Specialty Search Associates
