A missing 85-year-old dementia sufferer was found more than 24 hours after he vanished having survived the night trapped in a 15ft-deep ditch.
Joseph Hughes left his nursing home in Porthcawl at around 12.50pm on Saturday, August 14, leaving his family frantic as they tried to trace his steps.
His disappearance sparked a huge search involving RNLI, various emergency services and the local community.
However, hope diminished when Joseph still hadn't been found by Sunday morning, Wales Online reports.
Luckily Mr Hughes was eventually found alive that afternoon, in a ditch near Newton Nottage roundabout after a woman searching for him had a hunch.
Mr Hughes' relieved family have thanked the emergency services and the public for their help in finding him.
Linda Hughes, his daughter-in-law, said: "He has been in his new care home for about six weeks and they've been fabulous with him and settled him in well.
Mr Hughes' relieved family have thanked the emergency services and the public for their help in finding him.
Linda Hughes, his daughter-in-law, said: "He has been in his new care home for about six weeks and they've been fabulous with him and settled him in well.
"Somehow - and they're still investigating how - he left the care home on Saturday. He's a master of escape."
CCTV captured him leaving the building at about 12.50pm and Linda said they hoped he'd be found "around the corner".
She said that although he had dementia, he probably wouldn't have stuck out as someone in distress, since he was able to be rational and reasonable and probably believed he was just out on an innocent walk.
Linda said that in their panic, she and her husband were immediately struck by the incredible efforts of the local community and emergency services who were all working together to try and find Mr Hughes.
She said: "The services were incredible as well as the support from Porthcawl. The effort, the support, the compassion was just outstanding."
As Saturday evening drew to a close, Linda said she and Martin started to get very concerned about the welfare of Mr Hughes.
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She said: "The search teams worked all the way through until 1am in the morning. My husband and I were so exhausted, we didn't know what to do next as we were just retracing our steps. Around then, the services decided to reduce their search and go on notification of anyone who knew where he was. It was difficult in the dark and we had no leads from anyone who had seen him.
"It was so painful as the night went on, it was heartbreaking to know someone you love is out there in the dark, completely lost and absolutely terrified with no hope of getting back out again. We got home and stayed up worrying, then my husband started again at 7am the next morning and the search resumed."
She said that as the search continued, there were still no answers through most of Sunday.
"Me and my husband were so exhausted at around 5pm or 6pm on Sunday," she said.
"I was in tears saying I don't think he can stand another night out there and we'd had nothing positive to tell us where he is. Then, we got the call to say he'd been found.
"A lady called Amy who works with the search and rescue helicopters at Saint Athan actually found him.
"She lives in Cardiff and drove all the way to Porthcawl, and with her knowledge of where someone might go and her knowledge of the area, she decided to search on her bicycle where she thought he might be. She said she got drawn to where he was. I called her Amy the Angel, because I think she was.
"The area is densely covered with trees and bracken and he had fallen straight through it all. It was about 15 to 16 foot deep," Linda said. "
"You couldn't see him in there and nobody walks along that path. I firmly believe if he had been there another night, we wouldn't have Joseph here today. He'd not eaten or drank anything since 1pm the previous day and he wasn't dressed for lying outside, he had trousers and a T-shirt on.
"He's a fabulous father-in-law, a fabulous guy and he's been a great grandad. He has lost a lot of his ability with his mental state because of the dementia and everybody involved treated him with such respect.
Mr Hughes stayed at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend overnight on Sunday and was "relatively unscathed" apart from some scrapes and dehydration.
Linda added: "It's an incredible journey we've been on and we're full of relief, but we're astounded by the care and the compassion that everybody gave Joseph, particularly Amy, who was there just because she felt she had a duty of care."
