Grandpa Thanit* went missing from home six months ago. Besides living with Alzheimer's, the resident of Prachuap Khiri Khan province -- who is believed to be 100 years old -- had a string of age-related health issues that impacted his ability to recognise friends and family. This made it more difficult for his family to locate him after he left home while family members were at work.
After notifying police, Grandpa Thanit's relatives got neighbours and the village headman involved in the search. When that did not work, they contacted missing persons agencies to continue with the search. Sniffer dogs were deployed to determine how far the old man had travelled. All clues suggested he had walked for about a kilometre. His walking stick and pa kao ma clothing were found in dense forest; but no sign of him.
Not jumping to conclusions, the research party suspected a number of scenarios could have taken place. One being that someone might have harmed him.
Cases of the elderly going missing from home have been increasingly reported these days -- clearly a result of Thailand on the verge of becoming a full-fledged aged society. While in the past missing persons cases usually involved children who were either lured by strangers or ran away, today demographic change has led to a surge in missing senior citizens.
"Stories of elderly people missing from home has become increasingly common today in Thai society, highlighting the dire need to address this social issue before it becomes worse," remarked Eaklak Loomchomkhae, director of Missing Persons for the Anti-Human Trafficking Centre. Established in 2003, the centre has been in the forefront in tackling the issue regarding missing people.
Thailand has seen a sharp rise in senior citizen numbers in the past few years. Based on data from the Foundation for Older Persons' Development, the elderly made up around 13% of the total population in 2010. It is expected that by 2040, that number will rise to 32%. The 2016 Situation of the Elderly Report conducted by the Foundation of Thai Gerontology Research and Development institute (TGRI) revealed that Thailand was found to have around 400,000 elderly who are reportedly dependent on assistance as well as approximately 600,000 seniors with dementia.
Eaklak said in the last three years statistics have shown a sharp increase in the number of missing people aged 60 and above. Two of the biggest factors attributing to this have been a rise in Alzheimer's cases and their own decision to leave home because of personal reasons. This could include not wanting to stay at home alone and feeling they are a burden on their children.
Having the house to himself during the day when everyone went to work and school, Grandpa Manit* left home for a stroll, only to forget how to make his way back home.
Eventually, the 70-year-old was found at a bus station near the Thai PBS TV building on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road where a passer-by found him. Rushed to hospital, he was identified after staff traced his personal information through missing person's data. He was reunited with his family in less than 48 hours of going missing.
In her late 60s, Grandma Nok* enjoys the hustle and bustle of Klong Toey market, so much so that she takes a bus to catch up on the latest gossip with vendors whenever she doesn't want to be left alone at home.
While she is usually able to recall the return bus numbers, on one fateful Thursday, she drew a blank. She walked aimlessly around Klong Toey market, clinging tightly to her purse and sleeping under a bridge for two nights before a good Samaritan decided to help. She was reunited with her family at the police station.
Eaklak painted a grim picture of the situation when he said: "Both urban and rural societies are at risk of having their elderly go missing today. In the past, we saw that it was just in the cities where people were more reluctant to help an elderly person they did not know.
"In the provinces, we run a similar risk today. While neighbours know that an elderly person who visits them is sick, they do not see the need to take them home, instead they feel that if they know the direction one way they have the capacity to return back home, which of course is not always the case.
"In rural areas, it becomes more difficult to keep an eye on the elderly with issues of forgetfulness because there are fewer people around than cities, while rural homes are located far away from each other and in dense vegetation. This can all contribute to the rising problem of them not being able to return home," Eaklak said.
The fact that people, even as they age, are reluctant to give up their independent lives makes it necessary for family to keep elderly members emotionally happy, suggested the NGO director.
"Due to the fact that both husband and wife need to work today to raise a family, the elderly are left alone in the house during the day. This can make them feel neglected and lonely. This is one of the reasons they leave home, in the hopes of taking on an adventure, but not understanding that they suffer from Alzheimer's or other degenerative brain diseases can make them a missing person statistic," he said, adding that the Missing Person for Anti-Human Trafficking Centre is in the process of creating a wristband with a QR code containing information of the elderly person wearing it which can prove beneficial when determining their origins.
"This is why it is pivotal for them to have a social life and feel a sense of self worth. The last thing they desire is to be at the mercy of their children. We find that today's elderly people want to be as independent of their child as possible. The last thing they desire is to become a burden on them in any form.
"Some with skills can in fact do menial jobs. That is why I would like to suggest business owners have an open heart and conduct CSR programmes for the elderly whereby they can earn even a pittance."
Eaklak said the ramifications of a missing elderly relative on a family is often emotionally devastating, especially on the person who is meant to be looking after them.
"The emotional impact is great, the relative in question often suffers from immense guilt on how society would view them. They can also come down very hard on themselves for allowing the incident to happen; not realising that they have to work to support this relative as well. This can also create disharmony within the family unit."
To shed light on the state of mind of such elderly people, Eaklak shared a recent case of a 66-year-old woman who had recently visited his office.
"She began by telling me that she had come to report a missing person. When I asked who it was, she said it was her. She had planned to leave home and wanted to tell us so when her relatives came to search for her I could tell them that their mother did not want to be found.
"When I urged her to share her life story, she told me that her entire life she worked hard to provide for her children's schooling. Now that she was old and sickly, she had to depend entirely on her children for her welfare. The 600 baht given by the government for the elderly was never enough."
When the family fought over money problems, she began to feel she was a burden on them.
"That is why she wanted to not just leave home but eventually commit suicide. Luckily she did not go through with her threat to harm herself, but was adamant to not return home.
"This case shows the immense pressure elderly parents of middle-class families experience due to economic situations. Due to this, I would suggest adult children be mindful and show a greater amount of restraint and empathy when they speak with their parents."
Eaklak added that as Thailand is fast becoming an aged society, the Thai government has to play an active role in the well-being of senior citizens.
To know more about their work go to themirrorfoundation.org and facebook.com/thaimissing.
* not their real names.
