Good Samaritans Help Forgetful Senior Find His Way Home

Thanks to two faceless people in the city, a 75-year-old city resident with alzheimer’s disease finally returned home.

CHENNAI: After three days of intense search by his family and friends with the help of social media, a 75-year-old city resident with alzheimer’s disease, who casually left home and lost way back home, the senior citizen finally returned home on Tuesday morning, thanks to two faceless people in the city who paid for an auto to enable him reach back home.

Prabhakaran Srinivasan Nadar, a resident of Prabha gardens, Chetpet, had taken his Maruti 800 car and drove from home on Sunday around 8 pm. But he did not return. After a frantic search in the  usual places and the police asking them lodge a complaint after 24 hours of missing, the relatives turned to social media. The FaceBook post by Prabhakaran’s granddaughter Cindana Manikavel was soon shared over 2,000 times and even unknown people coming forward to help the family. The message also went viral in WhatsApp.

“A common friend in Facebook informed me that she saw him at Tailor’s road at 6 pm on Monday,” Cindana Manikavel told City Express. But as the family reached the road and scanned the locality, Prabhakar was no where to be found. Much to their anguish, a tea shop owner there identified Prabhakar as someone who visit his shop in a car in evenings often.

Family members said Prabhakaran had very good memory power until three years ago. “My grandpa has good memory but recently the diseases symptoms are getting severe and he forgets the recent events,” said Cindana Manikavel.

As the little clues they gathered with the help of the social media friends also failed then in tracing their senior family member, much to their surprise, Prabhakaran arrived in the house on Tuesday morning in an auto.

Inquiries found the Prabhakaran had reached Sowrastra Nagar in Choolaimedu and lost the way back home. He was sitting there for the whole day and night not knowing how to reach back home. “Two persons who showed concern to him enquired and he explained to them that he lost way to home, but remembers the address. As he was not able to walk, they helped him get into the auto and asked the driver to drop him in the address,” said Cindana Manikavel.

But Prabhakaran is not able to remember what happened to the car, in which he left home.

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