NEWS RELEASE
SOUTH SIMCOE POLICE SERVICE
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A call from a concerned citizen led to the rescue of a senior who wandered off on a cold night after her vehicle got stuck in a muddy ditch.
On Tuesday, April 26, at approximately 11:50 p.m., the South Simcoe Police Service responded to a call for a vehicle in a ditch on a rural portion of the 4th Line of Bradford. A citizen driving by noticed the vehicle in the ditch and called police due to the extremely secluded area and time of night.
When officers arrived on scene they found the car, sunken into the ditch, abandoned but still running. They learned the registered owner of the car was an 84-year-old woman from Innisfil, and a search of the vehicle yielded her purse and identification inside. Both officers immediately became concerned for the well-being of the elderly female, who was nowhere in sight, and commenced a search of the area.
As other officers were dispatched to attend the woman’s home, officers began walking along the roadside when one of the officers heard a faint voice calling for help. The officer located the woman approximately 200 metres from the roadway stuck in thick mud in the field. She was disoriented and had become stuck in the mud due to the early spring season, having wandered away from her vehicle looking for help. She was not dressed for the below-freezing weather, and was unable to get out of the mud under her own power.
The officers carried the woman to the safety of the roadway where they wrapped her in one of their police coats, gave her a hat and blanket before placing her in the police car to warm up while they awaited the arrival of paramedics.
The woman was subsequently transported to a local hospital as a precaution and her family was notified.
There is no doubt that given the circumstances, the citizen who called in the vehicle, and the officers who attended, saved the woman’s life. Given the remote area, the weather, and the condition of the field where the woman had wandered, she almost certainly would not have survived the night had she not been located. Thank you to the citizen for making a difference and helping police ensure the safety of one of our vulnerable residents.
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