Local Couple Imparts Advice When Dealing With Silver Alert

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Silver Alerts are issued whenever a senior citizen comes up missing. One recent Silver Alert hit close to home for a Tupelo couple.

For Craig and Rhonda Horton, a lunch Tuesday  was a time of celebration and reflection. But two days ago, the family was facing a sudden crisis.

“My dad is Randy Pannell, he’s 72 years old, lives at Blue Springs, lives alone, we have caregivers, and there was a window Sunday afternoon , he was left without a care giver, he got in his truck and wanted to go for a drive,”Rhonda said.

A statewide “Silver Alert” was issued for Pannell, who suffers from dementia and other medical conditions. He became disoriented, got lost and ended up in Tuscambia , Alabama, where he drove off the road, and into a soybean field, where he got stuck. He was found, safe, but dehydrated, at a nearby church on Monday.

Now, the Hortons have advice for families with elderly loved ones, who may be prone wander off.

“His battery went down, so his cellphone didn’t work, he had a Life Alert necklace on, I thought, when I purchased the Life Alert system, I thought, ok, I can rest easy, but it doesn’t have a GPS in it, there was nothing they could do,” she said.

Without a GPS, the necklace only monitors people in their home. Mr Pannell didn’t know how to use his cell phone, and neither Craig nor Rhonda had his license plate number for authorities, who also needed a current photo of Pannell.

“Very important you get a recent photo of your senior loved one, get tag number, vehicle information down, to any distinguishing marks on vehicle, vehicle idenfitication number is very important,”Craig said.

In this case, thanks to a Good Samaritan, the outcome was good and the Hortons want others to know that a few simple precautions can help prevent a lot of anxiety if a senior family member is disoriented, or gets lost.

The Hortons also wanted to thank the Union County Sheriff’s Department for issuing the Silver Alert. They also point out that Mr Pannell’s keys are in a safe place.