77-year-old man missing for a week found after walking 13 miles from home
Vicente Morocho Lema disappeared last Wednesday after leaving his home in Bushwick to collect cans, something his family says he does almost every day.
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A 77-year-old Brooklyn man who had been missing for nearly a week was found more than a dozen miles from home.
Vicente Morocho Lema disappeared last Wednesday after leaving his home in Bushwick to collect cans, something his family says he does almost every day.
When he didn’t come back home for dinner that night, his family became worried.
Family members said Morocho walks with a limp, has difficulty speaking clearly and only understands Spanish. His younger brother and nieces spent days searching the neighborhood, putting up flyers and sharing his photo on social media.
“I love him like he’s my father,” his young brother, Segundo Morocho, said. “We looked and looked, but we didn’t find him. It was very difficult for me.”
The family said they were especially worried because of the cold and rain in the days after he went missing.
“He's elderly. He might pass away by hypothermia or something,” said his great-niece, Damaris Quezada.
At one point, someone sent the family video showing Morocho in Maspeth, Queens, where he had taken shelter outside a small office during the rain.
“He was telling me to call the cops,” said Francisco Rosales, who works at the office. “I couldn’t understand him very well because he couldn’t speak that much, so we called the cops.”
He says officers came, but then told Morocho to leave.
The NYPD told News 12 that officers spoke with Morocho in Spanish and asked if he needed medical assistance, but said he refused services.
Relatives say they wish officers had checked the missing persons list.
Six days after Morocho vanished, the family received a call from Long Island Jewish Medical Center, saying Morocho was brought in.
He had been found on the street in Glen Oaks, Queens, roughly 13 miles from his Bushwick home. A nurse spotted him and helped get him to the hospital.
“This has been very difficult,” Morocho’s brother said. “But I give glory to God that he allowed us to be together again.”
The family hopes he will be able to return home to Bushwick later this week.
The Department for the Aging says the situation highlights the risks older adults face if they become disoriented or wander away from home.
The agency’s commissioner says families caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can take several steps to keep loved ones safe.
Those include using identification bracelets with emergency contact information, installing door alarms or extra locks and using tracking devices or phone location services.
Caregivers are also encouraged to keep a recent photograph of the person and contact police immediately if they go missing.
“It’s so important for families to recognize that something as simple as an ID bracelet can be so helpful,” said Dr. Lisa Scott-McKenzie, commissioner of NYC Aging. “Had the police had access to this bracelet, we would have been able to reconnect the families even sooner.”
