Jaipur: A 75-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who went missing from his Jawahar Circle home early Monday was reunited with his family late at night, thanks to a social media appeal and the alertness of a roadside eatery worker who spotted him nearly 25 km away. The man, identified as Haricharan Meena, slipped out around 3.40 am. His family noticed his absence half an hour later and began searching nearby streets, EHCC Hospital and the North Western Railways office. “We checked our neighbour’s CCTV and saw my father jump over the boundary wall since the main gate was locked,” said his son, Abhimanu. “We were terrified because, due to his Alzheimer’s, he wouldn’t have remembered his name or address.” By 9 am, the family lodged a missing person report at Jawahar Circle police station and launched a social media campaign, circulating his photo and details across WhatsApp and Facebook. Police teams reviewed CCTV footage and traced him walking from Jawahar Circle to Fortis Hospital and later near the Durgapura bus stand, about 10 km away. Despite hours of search, there was no breakthrough till evening. Finally, around 9 pm, Bal Krishan, a worker at a dhaba in Amber Kunda, recognised Haricharan from the circulated post and informed the family. A video call confirmed his identity. The family rushed to the spot and brought him home safely, thanking both Bal Krishan and the police. ACP Abhimanu Punia said the case showed the impact of social media and community vigilance in tracing missing persons.
