Good Samaritan helps find woman with dementia

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – An Indianapolis woman with dementia who wandered away from home is lucky to be alive.

Laquandra Warren, a quick-thinking, nursing home worker can now add Good Samaritan to her resume. She spotted Ramona Davenport, stopped and then waited until help arrived.

“I didn’t have time enough to know who it was or what was going on so with that training and her actions I realized something was wrong,” said Warren.

Warren spotted Davenport on the side of 56th Street just after midnight.

“I then got out of the car and walked around to her and held her to let her know its okay. Nobody is going to hurt you and help is on the way,” said Warren.

Davenport wandered away from home at about 8:30 Saturday night. Her family members tried looking for her themselves. But called firefighters for help two hours later. Davenport made it 3 miles from home before Warren found her as she was out for the night with her cousin

“I see this shadow in the road, I didn’t know what it was or who it was at the time. I hear honking. I get closer to her and see that she was walking back and forth into the street. “When they’re [dementia patients] like that they really don’t know whats going on, they don’t know who to trust, they don’t know who they are at that time,” said Warren

While Warren’s quick-thinking comes from her work at a nursing home, her compassion comes from having a sick sister.

“She’s sick with schizophrenia, so I noticed something is wrong, she reminds me of my sister we have to turn back around right now because if something happens that’s going to be on my conscience and I’m not going home knowing that that lady is out there,” said Warren

Warren says she knew something was wrong because Davenport kept repeating the same things over and over to her. The Alzheimer’s Association says that’s a sign of mild and moderate dementia.

IFD says many people called 911, but Warren was the only one who stopped to help.