The Charles County Sheriff’s Office were recently called about a missing 81 year-old woman named Roberta, who suffers from dementia.

Though she has this disease, Roberta likes to stay active by taking walks down her driveway. When she didn’t return one day, her daughter panicked and called the police, thinking her mother was lost.

Officers from the Charles County, Maryland Sheriff’s Department immediately headed out to see if they could find Roberta.

Five officers were dispatched to find Roberta, and after 42 minutes, they were finally able to find her. They came upon the elderly woman slowly walking in the opposite direction on a walking path near a forest.

“I shouted her name and she yelled back, so we both ran toward her,” Sergeant Clarance Black said. “When we got to her, she had branches in her hair that we had to pull out and was confused as to why we were there.”

The officers didn’t want to embarrass Roberta by explaining that she had been reported missing, so they simply told her that they were out for a walk as well. Officer Morrison walked with her slowly to his police car, holding her hand as he did. They engaged in small talk with Roberta as they walked, asking her what her secret to living a long life is.

“Eat good and stay active,” she replied.

She had wandered far from home, but the cops were able to get her back to her family.

“Roberta didn’t think it was a big deal and even said to her daughter ‘I’m fine, I took a walk with these nice officers,’” the Sergeant recalled. “We were just happy to bring her back to safety.”

Sergeant Black was so touched by what was happening that he snapped a photo of Officer Morrison walking with Roberta.

“It was cool to talk to someone that old who has experienced a lot of life and now lives with four generations,” Officer Morrison said. “I’m really close with my grandma, so I was intrigued by her story.”

“It was such a simple gesture, so I thought it would be nice to have the photo to remember it by,” Sergeant Black added. “It was also neat to think about the fact that there’s a 60-year age gap between them.”

God bless these officers for helping a woman in need!