Man reunited with family
Residents responded in their numbers and in a joint effort an elderly man, later known as David Magnie was reunited with his family
By Tumelo Mthethwa
“Good day please help. I have an elderly man at our front gate of our complex. He has a head wound that has a plaster on it. I saw him earlier at our gate.
“He is confused about where he lives. I’ve tried calling the police. No help from them at all. He knows sort of where he lives. I gave him money and food. He doesn’t need money. He needs help. I don’t know what to do??”
This is the post Loren Foldvari Nagy (48) put up on the Basically Bedfordview Facebook page on Monday afternoon (August 28).
Community members responded in their numbers and in a joint effort an elderly man, later known as David Magnie was reunited with his family.
Foldvari Nagy lives at a complex on Van Buuren Road and said she first noticed the 70-year-old man, with a wound on his forehead, at around 1:30pm.
When she came back at 5pm he was still standing near the security guard.
“At first, I thought he needed transport and I gave him money. I then came back with soup and a banana but he wasn’t hungry. He was dehydrated and wanted water instead,” she explained.
The mother of one asked what was wrong and the man said he was lost.
“I freaked out and went on Basically Bedfordview to ask advice. I also called 10111 and 112. I was sent back and forth,” she added.
“I also called Bedford Gardens and was told to call a government hospital.”
A missing adult alert was circulated by Pink Ladies, stating that David Magnie (70), suffering from Alzheimer’s, had been missing since August 18.
Anyone with information was requested to contact the Elsburg police.
According to Foldvari Nagy, Pricellia Play Munthri advised her on Facebook to post a picture of the elderly man because there was someone in Edenvale looking for their dad who allegedly has dementia.
Foldvari Nagy posted a picture of the man she suspected to be Magnie. The picture was compared to that on the Pink Ladies alert.
“Chandey Chloe Bosch also commented on the post to say she had seen a picture of a missing man and she told me to contact Lee, who was a relative. I thought it was the son and I immediately gave him a call.”
After confirming that it was the same man, she called Lee and asked if his dad was Dave Magnie?
“He started crying terribly. I went to Dave and gave him the phone. He said yes, that’s my sister’s son.”
In a few minutes, there were tears and hugs as the nephew arrived to collect his uncle.
“I prayed and thanked God. Lee hugged us all.”
While many people would not have been bothered to see the elderly man standing at the entrance to their complex, Foldvari Nagy still doesn’t know what made her stop and help.
“It was my gut instinct. I don’t normally stop, but something told me to,” she said.
She hasn’t stopped smiling since the incident but knows it was not just her own doing.
“The whole of Bedfordview was very active in the process. For two and half hours they came together. I would like to say thank you for helping me throughout those hours. It shows there are good people. We all worked together and as a result, a man went home safely.”
Foldvari Nagy’s 12-year old daughter, Gabriella, is very proud of her mother.
“She was very brave; I don’t think I’d do what she did.”
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