Dear Resident,

Reuniting two brothers was just one of the jobs our response officers got to do last week.

A worried man had spent all morning and early afternoon looking for his brother, only to call us when he couldn’t think what else to do last Thursday. He called police just before 1.30pm concerned for his sibling, who is in his 70s and has dementia.

The man’s health had been declining in recent weeks and when his brother came to visit him at his home in Hartford, near Huntingdon, the man was nowhere to be found and had left his phone behind. The elderly man had recently been going for walks but then getting lost.

Officers searched the area, known locations and former addresses he was known to visit due to his symptoms - but could find no trace of the man. However when officers were speaking to the man’s brother, he received a very important phone call.

A landlady of one of the man’s favourite pubs, which had already been checked by his brother and police earlier that day, said the missing man had just walked into the venue.

Thank you to that landlady, who already knew the man’s health had been declining and knew exactly who to call. Her kindness and compassion to make sure the man was safe was lovely to see.

Officers attended the pub where they found the missing man, while other officers gave his brother a lift to meet him and reunite the pair.

The man’s brother already had steps in place to help find him if he went missing, but we also let him know about the Herbert Protocol. Have you heard of it? It’s a scheme we support that can help find people with dementia if they go missing.

It encourages family and friends to keep a document that will help officers in the event a loved one goes missing by collating key pieces of information, such as a physical description, familiar places, health details and an up-to-date photo.

For more information or to download a Herbert Protocol form, visit our dedicated web page.

Please feel free to share the word about this important scheme.

Kind regards,