Enthusiastic strawberry farm owner helps police find missing 86-year-old man and returns home safely

The police asked the owner of Donglin Strawberry Farm on Bishan Road. The boss recognized the old man as an old acquaintance. Based on his understanding of the old man’s early life habits, he enthusiastically led the way and successfully found the frail old man beside a stone in a nearby deserted open space. (Photo taken by reporter Zheng Jingyi)

An 86-year-old man in Taipei City left home alone late at night and disappeared without a trace. Officers from the Neihu Police Station of the Neihu Branch of the Taipei City Police Department were reported to be searching in the Bishan Rock Mountain area. When patrolling the Donglin Strawberry Garden on Bishan Road, they asked the owner of the local business. The boss recognized the old man as an old acquaintance and enthusiastically led the way based on his knowledge of the old man's early living habits. He successfully found the frail old man beside a stone in a nearby abandoned open space and helped him return home safely.

The old man did not come home after going out late at night. His family members searched anxiously but to no avail, so they immediately reported the case to Neihu Police Station for help. While performing patrol duties, Inspector Lin Junhong and Police Constable Kang Yuanjie searched along the mountain roads around Bishanyan and the places where the old man might go. When the patrol car passed by Donglin Strawberry Garden on Bishan Road, the police officer thought that the store had been operating in the local area for a long time and was very familiar with the surrounding environment. It might be able to provide directions, so he took the initiative to explain the old man's characteristics to the boss and asked the boss to help pay attention.

After the owner of the strawberry farm learned about the situation, he immediately recognized that the missing old man had known him for many years. He also thought that the old man had lived near the strawberry farm in his early years, and concluded that the old man might have returned to a familiar place based on his memory. The boss then took the initiative to lead the police to a long-abandoned open space near the strawberry garden to search. The group carefully checked the grass along the way and kept shouting the old man's name. After continuing to search, they found the old man sitting alone by a stone. The old man was relatively weak at the time, but fortunately he was not seriously injured. After the police confirmed his identity, he carefully escorted the old man back home. When his family saw that the old man had returned safely, they thanked the police for their active assistance and the enthusiastic store owners for their help.

Neihu Branch reminds that when elderly people go out alone, their family members can leave contact information on their clothes or belongings, and use positioning devices as needed to help them track their whereabouts and reduce the risk of getting lost. If an elder at home is accidentally missing, you should immediately call 110 to report the case and provide the police with recent photos, clothing characteristics and possible places to go, so that the police can immediately grasp clues and quickly find the person, and seize the golden time to assist in the search.