Canadian police officer buys plane ticket to help elderly woman get home

A Canadian police officer is downplaying the praise he’s received for helping a disoriented American tourist get home safely.

Last Thursday, police received a call from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Jewel of the Sea.

According to the Victoria Police Department’s press release, a 65-year-old woman from Buffalo, New York, was reported missing when the ship left B.C.

Earlier that day, the woman left the ship and didn’t return. The ship’s crew had no choice but to continue on their way to Seattle, where the woman had already booked a flight home.

Police officers, including VicPD’s Cst. Andre Almeida, were called in for help.

They learned from her husband that she has been recently displaying signs of dementia, and the search began for the missing woman.

Staff at the Fairmont Express hotel found her shortly after and she was immediately taken to the hospital for assessment.

That’s when Almeida decided to arrange a flight to Seattle so the woman could make her connection and get back to New York. He paid for the flight out of his own pocket.

“There was no other way to ensure she would make it back home,” Almeida said in the press release. “She needed help. It could be my mom stranded somewhere and I would hope that someone would help.”

The next day the woman was taken to the airport, where the staff at Alaska Airlines reimbursed Almeida for the cost of the flight. They also ensured the woman made it to Seattle in time for her flight back home.

Almeida was quick brush off any praise and told CBC News that it was a team effort to get her home.

“My part was really small,” he said. “I just gave a credit card.”

According to police, the woman is now safely reunited with her family.