When to report somebody missing? Not sure what to do

[Appleblossom92]

My auntie has recently been diagnosed with early onset dementia after a brain scan but still has some capacity. She is still driving but we’re getting increasingly worried about this as her memory seems to be declining a lot recently.

Today, she seemed to think my mum had arranged to see her and go out round the charity shops in a local village but this was never arranged as my mum is at work today. She told my uncle she was going out and set off nearly two hours ago. I’m at my mums house now because my mum is at work, incase my auntie turns up. It’s only a ten minute drive but she’s not here. I called my uncle who confirmed she set off at 11:45 and hasn’t returned home. He’s had a drive round on the route she would take here and also up to where the charity shops are but no sign of her. Nobody can get in touch with her via phone either and we have no idea where she has gone.

I think it would be appropriate to report her as missing now tbh. Explain that she has these vulnerabilities.

That sounds very stressful. I think I would call 101 for advice on this as with her having dementia she might not be safe and also may be putting others in danger with her driving. I would suggest stopping her driving after this. I appareciate it’s not easy, we’ve been through it with my gran. She’s in the moderate stages now so past asking about her car but early on we told her it was in the garage each time she asked. She did get angry and think we were all against her driving but we had to put up with the anger because she wasn’t safe.

I hope you find her soon and she’s safe. Sounds very worrying for you all.

I'd do it now. If you explain I'm sure they could keep a look out for the car at least. Good luck. My DF went missing once. It was only for a day and he was fine, but it was horrible.

Due to her diagnosis you can report her missing on 999 and it should be deemed as a high risk missing person. Hopefully she is found soon.

I would call 101 and explain the situation. Hope she turns up soon!

Please report her missing immediately. Do you know the registration no. of her car?

I do this as a job. Please get the police involved. They’d ring us and we go out looking. Do it asap

I would have thought with her dementia she is classed as vulnerable. Please report her missing and also get the registration of her car if you can. May also be useful to see if your uncle remembers what she was wearing etc for when you report her missing. Good luck OP, I hope she is found safe and well soon

Yes agree with the above, I'd report her now.

I hope she's home now.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't report an adult missing after a couple of hours - but in the case of someone like your aunt who has dementia, I definitely would. You've tried all the usual ways of getting in touch with her and she hasn't responded and her dementia makes her vulnerable so yes, call the police. As she's driving, make sure you have the details of her car when you make the call, as it will help them to know the type, colour and registration.

Report. That will also get her on the police’s „books“ in case it becomes a regular thing.

Agreed - in these circumstances, report immediately.

Yes definitely call the police. I hope she is located soon op. What a worry.

I had similar with my mum a few years ago (went out shopping on public transport and still hadn't come home by 9pm, several hours after dark). Had to fill in an online form instead of over the phone. And my mum arrived home about 10 minutes after I finished the form, wondering what all the fuss was about!

Your aunt is probably fine - if she'd had an accident the police would have been able to trace who she was and contact your uncle. But as she is driving she may have got lost and not be able to find her way to a recognisable place. Or she might just be having a jolly day out! But it's easy to be logical when it's not happening to you - I remember how sick I felt when I felt I needed to report my mum missing.

Give the police a call. It happened with a man locally to me not long ago and the police put a trace on his numberplate on ANPR cameras. The found him that way.
My dad had dementia and during early onset went out in his car but couldn't remember his way home so was gone for four hours. I think it scared him a little and with gently persuasion from us he gave up driving after that.
Hope she is ok and back home soon.

Inform Police straight away - sooner they can track her via cameras if she is on main routes etc.

For the future I would get a tracker on the car and her phone if she has one or maybe in her handbag or on a set of keys etc - sell it as if the keys go missing etc.

Sorry to add to my above have a read up on the Herbert Protocol too which is to help with people who go missing with dementia.

She's vulnerable so call the police non-emergency no. and report her missing. They can scan the ANPR cameras for her car, and ask a patrol to find her. She's probably parked up somewhere and can't remember where she was going.

Yes agree to report now, hope she's ok.

Call the police and tell.them your concerned for her welfare
Also.im.not sure she should still.be driving ,who diagnosed her dementia ,?
They can write to.the DVLA and get her licence rescinded .

Sense of direction is one of the first things to go with dementia

It is. My stepdad lost his sense of direction a good 5 years before any other symptoms showed.

I hope she is home safe already but I would totally report missing in these circumstances. And look into the Herbert Protocol in case it happens again. I would be wary about her still driving too - reaction times slow, depth perception changes, ability to cope with changes in route like a road closed can all mean she may now be a danger to other road users.

It happened to a friend of ours, his wife was relatively young and mobile but left the house while he answered the front door. She didn't take the car but instead walked for miles in her slippers. She was found hours later wandering around the area she grew up. By then it was dark and she had no coat and no idea where she was.

Yes, report.