(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Palos Park Police Officer Ross Chibe was out on patrol in late July when he spotted a car on Will Cook Road driving slowly and stopping and starting again.
When Officer Chibe approached the car, he found a disoriented elderly couple who weren’t quite sure where they were or where they were going.
“He found out they had been driving for several days from South Carolina,” Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller said.
The couple, now 900 miles away from home, had been driving off and on for days and sleeping in their car.
Officer Chibe called the Palos Fire Protection District, and first responders brought the pair to Palos Community Health for evaluation.
Although the couple struggled with memory issues, they were able to give Officer Chibe the name of their son.
“He was able to track their son down in Las Vegas, Nevada, and family members, by morning were on a plane headed to Chicago,” Miller said.
The officers efforts made headlines in the suburbs and in South Carolina. That is how the Dementia Society of America heard about his heroic deed.
To thank him for preventing a potential tragedy, the organization planned to honor Chibe at the Palos Park Village council meeting on Monday night.
Chibe joined the Palos Park Police Department as a cadet when he was 14, said Miller, who added the recognition isn’t surprising.
“He's someone who gives his heart and soul to this profession,” the police chief said.
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