Missed 82-year-old from Sieversdorf after days found alive!

Missed 82-year-old from Sieversdorf after days found alive!

Sieversdorf, Deutschland - On June 2, 2025, the 82-year-old woman from Sieversdorf was found in a forest north of Hohenofen after four days of disappearance. The woman's daughter, Annette Berg, confirmed that her mother lives and expressed relief about the find. The search started on Friday evening, May 30th, and included numerous volunteers who spontaneously came together, including members of the fire brigade and sports club.

Uwe Rutter, a farmer from Sieversdorf, organized the search team and reported on the screams of help that were heard nearby. Despite the use of police helicopters and rescue dogs at the weekend, the search was initially unsuccessful. For Monday evening or Tuesday morning it was planned to search waters with a police boat. The woman was finally dehydrated, but was found nearby and taken to the hospital.

The role of volunteers in the search

Mayor Thomas Beilt reported about 50 helpers who took part in the search. The cooperative effort shows how important voluntary support is in crisis situations. In this context, brochures appeared recently that aim to promote work with older people and dementia patients. These materials, published by the Federal Working Group on senior citizens' offices, cover opportunities and challenges of voluntary support and offer practical examples of accompanying people with dementia.

Such initiatives are particularly relevant because the proportion of people with dementia increases and thus new challenges for social actors, including the police. The police inspections are increasingly confronted with training courses to improve the use of dementia patients, as can be seen from current developments in Austria.

police and people with dementia

How the reports from the Dementenzjournal , for example, received the "Dementia-friendly office" certificate in Carinthia. Schools are intended to support that police officers can understand the changes in the perception of dementia patients and act de -escalating. Hamburg also anchored the topic of dementia in its police training and offers special training courses for dealing with those affected.

A principle is that dementia sufferers do not necessarily have to be convinced of their perception. Training also includes practical exercises for sensitization and better handling in conflict situations.

The experiences and resources gained, such as the brochure mentioned, help to ensure sensitive and effective accompaniment for people with dementia. Information and recommendations for action for volunteers are available on the website of the Senior citizens' office . It also includes tips on networking and the necessary training.

These developments reflect the need to further improve the approaches to support people with dementia and their integration in society. The case of Sieversdorf exemplifies the social efforts to help people in emergencies.