Guard sends off elderly man in Uber, prompting CCSO search

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NAPLES, Fla. – A guard at an apartment complex called an Uber for a 70-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease, but it was not exactly a compassionate gesture.

The man, Donald Hillenmeyer, was walking his Pelican Bay neighborhood with wife Lucia when he had an episode. Lucia was going to let Donald walk it off, but when she went to meet him around he was gone.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office used helicopters, searching for an hour before finding Donald near a fence on US-41. He was in the middle of construction and confused, deputies said.

Deputies discovered that Donald had been on an Uber ride when he jumped out the car across lanes of traffic.

According to reports, Donald had approached a security guard in his complex. The guard became “tired of dealing with Donald and paid Uber to take him where he wanted to go,” the deputy report said.

The Uber driver suspected something was wrong and called deputies, which helped their recovery efforts.

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