A pair of firearms officers have been praised after helping to locate a missing pensioner who had dementia.
The 74-year-old man has been safely reunited with his family after being found by the armed police wandering around Walker on Wednesday morning.
He had been reported missing at around 8am after leaving his home address in Elswick and failing to return home.
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The pensioner, who had been diagnosed with dementia, had previously lived in Walker and so the pair of armed officers took to the streets to see if they could locate him.
Within minutes they found the man in a confused state and quickly brought him to safety and transported him home.
The officer who heads up Northumbria Police’s Firearms Support Unit (FSU) has praised the vigilance of the armed team.
Chief Inspector Mick Hall said: “Our authorised firearms officers (AFOs) do a fantastic job and every day they support response policing across the force.
“They don’t just patrol the region carrying their firearms, they respond to road traffic collisions, search for wanted fugitives and help to locate missing people.
“On this occasion they knew that this vulnerable man had previously lived in Walker so they decided to try their luck in the area.
“Ultimately their vigilance paid off and they were able to reunite him with his family before he came to any harm.
“I want to praise them for their response and I hope it reassures the community that we will work tirelessly to ensure vulnerable members of our community are safe.”
In light of the incident, Northumbria Police are also encouraging family, friends and carers of vulnerable people to consider filling out a Herbert Protocol form.
The form is used if that individual ever goes missing and records vital details, such as medication required, mobile numbers, places previously located and a photograph.
This can save the police vital time and ensure they can carry out fast-track enquiries that could be crucial to bringing the vulnerable person home safely.
Chief Insp Hall said: “The Herbert Protocol is a fantastic initiative that has been adopted by our force for some time now.
“It takes a matter of minutes to fill out but that time could be crucial in the early stages of a missing person investigation.
“If somebody close to you has dementia, or is vulnerable in any other way that puts them at risk of going missing, then please do take the time to complete the form.”
You can find more information about the Herbert Protocol online at the Northumbria Police website.
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