A Kentucky Female Player Finds a Missing Man with Dementia Thanks to Pokemon Go!

Since its official release, millions of people around the world joined the hype of playing Pokemon Go. The realization of the game enables us to fulfill our childhood dream of becoming the “very best Pokemon master” like Ash Ketchum.

Aside from that, the game is equipped with augmented reality technology that enables us to roam our vicinity and catch those Pokemon monsters. And for the first time, this game enables players to communicate and cooperate to form groups and battle with other teams.

Pokemon Go was released last July 6, 2016, worldwide

Thanks to Pokemon Go, thousands of gamers who were once considered as shut-ins actually went out of their comfort zones to interact and socialize with people. Suffice to say that Pokemon Go dramatically changed our lives and how we play our games.

But who would’ve thought that this game could also help save lives? That was exactly what happened to this woman. Instead of finding and capturing a pocket monster, she found a missing man with dementia!

The Pokemon Go Savior!

Homer Howard was found by Allison Hines at Kenney Shields Park in Covington, Kentucky

On a Friday morning last April 20, 2018, a female Pokemon Go player named Allison Hines stopped by at Kenney Shields park as part of her daily destination. The park serves as her Pokestop location to reload her in-game supply for the said video game. However, Hines came across an elderly man who seemed in need of her help.

She suspected the older man was a Navy veteran based on the baseball cap that he was waving around. At that time, Hines’ instinct was screaming at her to stop the car and check on him. And so, she went back and spoke to the man. Luckily, the Navy veteran still remembered and stated his name – Homer Howard as well as his address.

Hines was appalled to discover he wasn’t even in his state anymore. She asked him if he even knows he’s in Kentucky but he didn’t have any idea how he actually ended up 30 miles away from his hometown.

A Heartwarming Reunion

While everything went fine when they separated ways, Hines wishes she can take Howard again to dinner soon. The fateful evening ended with Hines taking memorable pictures together with Howard and his family

Furthermore, Hines noted how Howard was really confused. He thought his wife was coming to fetch him, or if not, at least the medical van would come to get him. That was when Hines noticed that there weren’t any medical offices in the vicinity and he was combining random stories. She then suspected that the Navy veteran may have been suffering from dementia. After prodding for a bit, Howard finally recalled the name of his wife and her phone number.

Hines immediately contacted the number to get in touch with his family. It was then she discovered that the man was reported missing by his daughters namely Tonya Geringer and Tammy Richardson 24-hours prior.

On the evening of the same day, Howard finally reunited with his family at a local police station. Howard’s daughter, Tammy Richardson, expressed her gratitude to Hines for finding her father. She even recalled how her thoughts were in shambles while searching for his whereabouts. She just had to stop them to reduce her anxiety. Instead, she kept on praying, hoping, and waiting until they heard an update from him.

The Importance of Going Offline

Hines also shared on her Facebook post how this experience taught her something important about life. She expressed we should disconnect from the online world time to time and work on connecting with real people, real human beings. According to her, there’s nothing more powerful in this world than the human’s touch and connection. Hines encourages everyone to never lose that feeling.

Moreover, she was grateful for Pokemon Go for not only enabling her to connect with the community but to socialize with other people too. Most of all, she was grateful the AR game enabled her to save a man’s life.