Naples boys honored for helping locate missing woman

NAPLES, Fla.- Two boys were honored on Thursday for helping rescue a woman who was missing for 24 hours.

“It’s kinda funny that all those people were looking for her, but we happened to find her,” said fifth-grader Matthew Thompson.

In October, more than 100 search and rescue crews were out looking for 55-year-old Ramona Daugs, but it was Thompson and his friend Dawson Blume who spotted Daugs in the woods while they were playing outside.

“At first I thought it was a palm or something, and then I saw it move around more and I showed Dawson and we ran in and told his mom. We got her a towel and a bottle of water then the paramedics came and took her to the hospital,” said Thompson.

Gloria Blume, Dawson’s mother, says she couldn’t believe it at first, “I could see the panic in their eyes, so I went outside and retrieved her from the woods.”

Daugs, who suffers from dementia, had been missing for 24 hours.

When asked how he feels after being honored for his heroic actions, Dawson Blume says “I’d say proud.”

The North Collier Fire Department recognized the boys for their bravery and their families couldn’t be more proud as well.

“They did amazing,” said Gloria Blume.