Last week, a 77-year-old Vandenberg Village man who suffers from dementia went missing, and local authorities turned to the public for help.
“In an incident like this where someone is in dire need of assistance — it takes the entire community to really come out and help,” said Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
When Lompoc resident Adam McClure got the notification, he took his son Aidan and dog Ember out to search.
A short time later they spotted the missing man at the Burton Mesa Ecological Reserve.
“We hit the trails and I think it was about 20 minutes after, Ember had gone around the corner and then I heard a man’s voice say ‘You’re a good one! You’re a good girl,'” said McClure. “And I walked around and she was licking his face where he had fallen.”
Moore had slipped into a ditch and broken his hip. He is now in the hospital recovering from his injuries and doing well.
“As a result of providence and as a result of the efforts of the McClure family, Mr. Moore was saved,” said Sheriff Brown. “He’s alive today. He’s recovering in the hospital.”