This is a heartwarming story of a police officer who went the extra mile to help a missing woman find her way back to her family.
The officer helped a 65-year-old woman left stranded in a foreign city after her cruise ship was forced to leave without her.
It began on August 6, 2015 when Victoria Police were told a 65-year-old passenger went missing from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in Victoria, BC. She failed to show up when the boat was readying to leave the Canadian city’s port. The crew had done several exhaustive searches of the vessel and could not locate her. They were forced to continue on to Seattle, leaving without the woman who was from Buffalo, New York.
Police learned from the woman’s family that she had recently started having dementia-like symptoms. They also learned she was booked for a return flight home from Seattle the next day.
Photo credit: Twitter
She was eventually located at the Fairmont Express Hotel and VicPD K9 officer Cst Andre Almeida came and picked her up and took her to the hospital for assessment.
He then decided to book her a flight from Victoria to Seattle and when her card didn’t work, he paid for the trip with his personal credit card.
“There was no other way to ensure she would make it back home,” Cst. Almeida told CBC News. “She needed help. It could be my mom stranded somewhere and I would hope that someone would help.”
The next morning police escorted her to the airport so she could make her flight and when they arrived they found that Alaska Airlines had decided to take over her care and reimburse Cst. Ameida for the cost.
Photo credit: Twitter
The woman is now safe with her family in New York.
Cst. Almedia was modest about his role in getting the woman home. “My part was really small,” he said. “I just gave a credit card.”
“Alaska Airlines, the Fairmont Empress staff, the staff at Royal Jubilee Hospital, the Commissionaires, they all should be thanked for helping get an ill and scared woman back to her family.”
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