69-year-old Coquitlam woman with dementia found alive and well in backyard after missing for 5 days – BC | 24CA News
Frank Zhang says it was like one thing out of a film when two strangers occurred to search out his mom after she went lacking for greater than 5 days.
“It’s a happy ending, it was such a relief for me,” Zhang informed Global News from a Coquitlam yard the place his mom was discovered.
“I was so thankful to all the volunteers, all the rescue forces trying to get hold of her. But after a massive search with no information, I was mentally prepared for her not coming back forever.”
Zhang says his mom moved to Coquitlam from China simply three months in the past and repeatedly would take morning walks.
“I told her regularly: ‘Don’t walk too far, don’t wander off’,” Zhang defined.
Lifang Cheng took off for her morning stroll final Monday however by no means got here again. Cheng was recognized with Alzheimer’s, and given her situation, a large search round Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain and Minnekhada Regional Park was launched.
But after 5 days with lots of of police and volunteers on the lookout for her, the couple who really discovered her wanted solely to look in their very own yard, discovering Cheng sitting on a rock.
Marjorie and Ed Kurucz stated they discovered Cheng beside their goldfish ponds within the yard by sheer coincidence.
“My heart was just pounding. I had to go find the phone number and it was like, ‘Ah! Don’t let her out of your sight!’ It was unreal,” Marjorie Kurucz informed Global News.
“But you could see she’d been through the bush. Her clothes were snagged. Full of burrs, full of seed pods but she looked none (the worse) for wear, I mean her runners looked okay,” Marjorie exclaimed.
But regardless of Cheng being within the woods for the higher a part of per week, the couple have been amazed by how nonplussed she appeared by the ordeal.
“She had no trouble walking. I couldn’t believe it,” Marjorie expressed with bewilderment.
“She was just smiling like nothing happened. She didn’t look like she was tired, faint or hungry. Then she walked down with the police by herself.”
Marjorie and Ed took Global News reporter Kamil Karamali round their property and confirmed him among the objects they discovered when Cheng occurred throughout their residence.
“Once they left, I found this old branch here that she must have used as a walking stick,” Marjorie identified.
“And this here, an old yogurt container, which she must have used to drink water,” she added.
Around 100 folks have been scouring the world for Cheng over the 5 days she disappeared however regardless of her age, situation and size of time gone, search and rescue crews say it was a survivable occasion.
“So long as you have water, food and you’re in an area that you can stay sheltered,” Al Hurley with Coquitlam Search and Rescue informed Global News.
“Definitely she was, from what we understand.
“So, I don’t think we lost hope. It’s just that we were running out of places to look. We hadn’t picked her up on any other camera footage. She wasn’t going into the city. She hadn’t been picked up by transit or any hospitals.”
In an interesting flip of occasions, search and rescue volunteers got here to Marjorie and Ed Kurucz’s residence a number of occasions on the lookout for the lacking senior, earlier than she appeared of their yard on Saturday.
“We had searched the property where she was found multiple times with people on the ground, as well as with aircraft, which means she was probably not here when we searched and came into the zone from another area. We just won’t know,” Hurley defined.
While we could by no means know the extent of Cheng’s trials and tribulations within the bush, the actual fact she made it by and with assist from some variety strangers left her son with immense pleasure after a troublesome week.
“It was unreal, I was so impressed that she was laughing. It healed so many people from the search and rescue teams and volunteers. I hugged her and it was just like a movie,” he exclaimed.
But regardless of being eternally grateful to all of the individuals who tried to search out his mom, he stated this drawback impacts many seniors who go lacking and stated susceptible folks like seniors and people with psychological sickness ought to have a type of monitoring system in case they get lost.
“As Canada ages, this will become a bigger problem and it’s up to us, as a society, to come up with better tracking solutions to help people living with dementia,” Zhang added.
Global News caught up with Frank visiting Marjorie and Ed Kurucz to supply thanks for locating his mom.
“I brought a cake and watermelon. I know it’s not much, but I needed to express my gratitude in person. Thank you so much,” Zhang informed Marjorie and Ed Kurucz.
“We’re just so happy she’s ok after hearing about so many other people who don’t make it,” Marjorie expressed as she tightly held Frank’s hand.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
