Police in Durham, Ont., helped a senior from out of town find her way home after getting lost for hours.
Audio of the senior’s 911 call was posted on social media on Tuesday as Durham police marked National Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“I’ve been lost for five hours. I cannot find my way home, and I’m scared of a car accident,” the distraught senior told the 911 operator, noting that she’d been trying to get home since 9 a.m.
She then informed the operator that she was parked at Baywood Centre in Ajax.
When the operator asked the senior if she had tried calling anyone, she said her friends are elderly and likely wouldn’t be able to help her.
“I pulled in because I don’t know where to go. I have asked several people, and nobody has been able to help me,” the senior said.
After being informed that police were on their way, the senior was elated.
“Oh, my gosh. This is amazing. Oh, thank you so much,” she told the 911 operator when officers found her.
Police said the call was made on March 23, and the senior, who was not from Durham Region, was lost because her GPS was not working.
“They escorted her to a main road in Ajax and provided her with handwritten directions to get home,” a Durham police spokesperson said in an email to CP24.
“She was advised to call immediately if she got lost again.”
In their social media post, police recognized the 911 operator, who they said provided “calm reassurance, patience and care when it mattered the most.”
“This is the work our 911 communicators do every day: listening, problem‑solving, and showing compassion in moments of fear and uncertainty,” police said.
