Kids help California police officers locate missing 97-year-old woman


When a group of five young friends learned a 97-year-old woman was missing in their neighborhood, they decided they would be the ones to find her.
Police in Roseville, California, shared on Facebook Monday that a woman with dementia had wandered away from her care facility, and asked people nearby to please be on the lookout. A large search party soon formed, which included Makenna Rogers, 10, and four of her friends who wanted to help. "Kids can make a difference just as much as parents can," she told KCRA.
They spent the afternoon searching, and after a dinner break, went back out. It was then that they spotted her, and immediately called police. "Our dispatchers were a little surprised to hear a 10-year-old on the other line telling us they had found this missing person," Officer Rob Baquera said. The woman was safe, and quickly reunited with relatives. Baquera praised the "junior detectives," and suggested they call the police department in 10 years. "Maybe we can give them a job," he said. "They're doing a great job, so far." Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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