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A Montgomery County Ride On Bus operator is being praised for her swift action and compassion after helping reunite a missing woman with dementia and her family.
On Monday night, bus operator Tilwonna Gollman Stevenson was driving her usual route through Germantown when a woman boarded her bus.
鈥淲hen she got on the bus, she stood out to me because she’s not one of my regulars,鈥� Stevenson recalled.
Shortly after, a countywide alert went out to Ride On drivers to be on the lookout for an elderly woman with dementia who had wandered away from a nearby hospital.
Police, acting on the belief that the woman may have taken the bus, pulled over Stevenson鈥檚 bus, but no one on board exactly matched the description.
鈥淚 was thinking, maybe a young person,鈥� Stevenson said. “The 55 is a very busy bus.”
A few minutes later, Stevenson took another look at the woman who had caught her attention earlier.
鈥淚 looked over and said, 鈥楬old up.鈥欌�� she said.
Stevenson got on the radio, asked for more details, and when she learned the missing woman was in her 80s, she realized she had found her.
Stevenson pulled the bus over, contacted Central Communications, and calmly engaged the woman, who didn鈥檛 speak English, while waiting for help.
鈥淚 turned and I looked at her, and she looked at me, and she stood up like she knew. 鈥� I said, 鈥榊our family鈥檚 looking for you. Someone鈥檚 on their way to get you,鈥欌�� she said.
Stevenson stayed with the woman until police arrived and confirmed her identity.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how long she had been missing, how long she had been traveling on the bus. I just wanted to keep her calm, and I wanted her to know that she was safe,” she said.
Ride On later Stevenson with a certificate of appreciation for her actions, but she said she wasn鈥檛 looking for recognition.
鈥淚t could have been my grandmother who got turned around and maybe confused about where they were going,” she said.
She credited both her instincts and her training as a bus operator for helping her recognize something wasn鈥檛 right.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad that I was the one who was able to help her,” Stevenson said.
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