What began as an ordinary Saturday morning, November 1, quickly turned into a frightening ordeal for Charistabelle Roman, a single mother of three.

Her 84-year-old mother, Cynthia Terblanche, who suffers from dementia, took her car and disappeared without a trace.

“I woke up about 06:30 and noticed my mom had made her bed,” she recalled. “At first, I thought she was somewhere in the apartment. But when I couldn’t find my house keys, I looked outside and saw that my car was gone,” Charistabelle explained.

Her mother, who had not driven in nearly two decades and needed glasses to see properly, had somehow managed to take the car and leave the complex during the rainy morning.

“When I ran to the gate, the guards said, ‘it was an old lady driving your car’. That’s when I knew she had driven off,” she said.

Panic set in as she realised she had no means to search for her mother. Her tracker company was unable to help, claiming the vehicle wasn’t ‘stolen’ since she knew the driver. Desperate, she turned to Beagle Watch, despite not being a client.

“I explained my story, and a kind Claudine took my details,” she said. “Within 10 minutes, she gave me a location to start from and put out a be-on-the-lookout alert for my vehicle.”

Claudine’s quick action helped spread the alert across security networks. Soon, Sandile from Trojan Security in Boskruin responded after receiving a tip from a good Samaritan, Yuvan Lalloo, who had found Charistabelle’s mom and ensured her safety at his complex.

“I nearly jumped out of a moving vehicle when I saw my car,” she said, describing the moment she found her mother. “She was disoriented but unharmed. When I hugged her, she simply said, ‘I’m hungry, I hope we have enough eggs for breakfast’.”

Charistabelle expressed deep gratitude to the trio who helped rescue her mother.

“Claudine checked on me every 20 minutes, even after mom was found. Sandile stayed with her until we arrived, and Yuvan was just incredible. He even reached out to make sure we connected,” she said.

Reflecting on the experience, Charistabelle hopes others caring for elderly or vulnerable loved ones will take precautions.

“Have a plan and don’t hesitate to ask for help – even from strangers,” she advised. “There are good people out there who will step up when you least expect it. Community can save lives.”