High school senior finds missing elderly man
In the frenzy of an intense search for an elderly resident who wandered away from home in Madison's Cypress Lake neighborhood last week, 17-year-old Katie Qualls knew she had to help.
It was late on Oct. 22, a cool night that was getting colder, when the Madison High School senior told her parents, Bill and Judy Qualls, the family had to do something. "Katie came and said, ‘God is telling me we need to help this man,'" her mother said.
"I knew I couldn't go to sleep until he was found," Katie said. "Something was telling me I've got to go. I'd never had God speak to me the way He did, but I just knew."
Madison police got a call at 7:45 p.m. that an elderly man with dementia due to Parkinson's had wandered away from home in Cypress Lake. As the Metro One helicopter circled overhead, police officers and firefighters searched for several hours. Neighborhood residents joined the search on foot, in golf carts and on four-wheelers as word spread.
The Qualls got in their car to drive across the neighborhood to join in.
"Police were everywhere," Judy Qualls said, who added she feared the man might have headed near one of the two lakes. She headed that way.
"My husband told Katie that the man's probably scared to death and hiding under bushes or trees," she said.
A large group of searchers headed toward the woods at the back of the neighborhood, but not Katie, who knew he wasn't there. "I had a gut feeling, and I felt in my heart that God was telling me to go another way," she said.
Thinking of her own grandparents, Katie said she told the man, who was disoriented, that she was there to help. "I picked him up, and he wouldn't let go of me. I talked to him and said I'm here for you."
After police arrived about 10:22 p.m., Katie sat with him in the squad car as officers talked with him and an ambulance was called.
"We couldn't be more proud of her," Judy Qualls said. "She's always had a heart for the elderly. We know this was not about her. It was from God."
Katie downplays her role in the rescue. "I just did what people are supposed to do. I did the right thing and followed my heart. I'm glad he's OK."
Residents in Cypress Lake have praised Katie's effort in what they see as a lifesaving role. Neighbor Martha Carr wrote about Katie's good deed on Cypress Lake's Facebook page, which generated accolades from others. "I was carried away by her story," Carr said.
To thank Katie, Carr, whose late husband had dementia, stopped by her house last week with flowers and a gift card. Katie, in turn, was touched by the gesture and kind words. "That made me so happy that people are so good," the teenager said. "It warmed my heart."
Madison Police Chief Gene Waldrop said he appreciates the work of the city's first responders and citizens who came together to help. "I think it's a perfect example of something going wrong but our emergency responders and citizens came together for a positive result. It was a successful conclusion to a bad situation."