Appeal sees elderly man safely reunited with his family
An elderly man from Tallow who went missing for a period of time earlier this week, was safely returned to his family late on Tuesday, thanks to a county-wide appeal that went out on the radio on Monday.
John Joe Dahill, who suffers from dementia and lives with his daughter and her partner Donal McAuliffe, took the keys of Donal's black Ford Ranger 4x4 late on Monday afternoon in a state of confusion, leaving the house at 4pm. It was only when Donal returned later to the house that the realisation of what happened set in and they immediately set about trying to locate John Joe, subsequently issuing an appeal to the public for help in tracing him.
Speaking with The Neil Prendeville show on Cork's RedFM on Tuesday morning, Donal outlined the story and the family’s urgent appeal for help in locating the jeep and John Joe. Having been missing overnight without a sighting, Donal explained that he had only filled the vehicle with €140 of diesel shortly before he had parked up at the house, potentially meaning John Joe could travel some several hundred miles without having to refill, as well as having removed the tracking device for charging.
The elderly ex-farmer also suffers from type 1 diabetes and worringly, was without his medication. Donal said that they were ‘ clutching at straws, hoping for the best’, having spent Monday night travelling the roads ‘ from Watergrasshill to Dungarvan’ in search of John Joe. Their last positive sighting of John Joe driving the jeep came at 7pm Monday evening around ‘the Sweep’ in Tallow, while an earlier sighting was also made of the vehicle passing through Fermoy and out the Clondulane Road, with no lights on, at 6pm.
Thankfully, council workers on their break from roadworks in the vicinity of Kinsale, heard Donal’s appeal on RedFM on Tuesday and noticed a jeep driving slowly – realising it was the missing 4x4, the quick-thinking workers managed to pull their JCB across the road, effectively forcing the jeep to a halt. The workers contacted the gardai, who attended the scene and helped reunite John Joe with his family, following a precautionary check-up in hospital.
Thankfully John Joe was located safe, although tired, following his ordeal. The council workers said that he was nothing but a gentleman, as they kept him occupied roadside while awaiting the arrival of gardai.
Donal publicly thanked the workers for their vigilance and committed to buying them a round of drinks as a small thanks for their assistance. He said the family were ‘humbled’ by the response since word went out of John Joe’s disappearance. He guessed that John Joe was driving all night, as there was ‘only 10 miles left in diesel’ in his jeep.