Officer locates missing elderly man in blizzard

In the middle of a winter storm that had blanketed the city recently, we received a call at 9 p.m. about an elderly person with dementia who had been discovered missing from his retirement home. The weather was uncooperative, with falling snow quickly erasing any trace of where the man may have gone.

Constable Adam Morin responded to the call and began the task of collecting all of the relevant information, interviewing staff at the senior’s facility, and responding to calls from anxious family members. Our Emergency Services Unit (ESU) was called in and began an extensive ground search.

Cst. Morin remained to help and began walking around the area, bracing against the winter blizzard, searching for any signs of the man.

While checking in a dumpster, he noticed a fading set of footprints, quickly disappearing in the snowstorm, and followed them, finally locating the missing man at around 1 a.m.

The elderly man was shivering and missing a shoe, and was hypothermic after being out in extreme elements for over six hours. Ottawa Paramedics attended and stabilized the man, then transported him to the hospital where he was reunited with his family.

Because of his initiative, care and compassion for this vulnerable person, and his desire to go above and beyond to help out the team, Cst. Morin helped save this man’s life.