For three days last week, hundreds of Islanders were gripped by the mystery of Jack Randles’ whereabouts. And after a couple of nights of icy-cold weather, many of us feared the worst.
The theory that he had somehow hopped on a bus, made it onto a ferry and was sitting in a coffee shop in West Seattle seemed far-fetched. Far more likely that he had toppled down a steep bank and died from hypothermia.
There was only one problem with this theory: Why hadn’t the dozens of search and rescue teams, the chopper equipped with specialized cameras or the highly trained tracking dogs found him?
We now know it’s because Jack Randles — a resourceful 83-year-old with Alzheimer’s disease — entered an unlocked home, changed his clothes, got some food and climbed into bed. And he didn’t go to bed in an ordinary home, but a resplendent waterfront house on a beautiful wooded drive.
The story had a certain magical quality.
But there was another story at work here, one not so magical but still remarkably important — a story that speaks to our community’s deep commitment to help those who are most vulnerable in society.
First, there was the search effort — an expensive one, at that — funded in part by a government sadly short of resources these days. This wasn’t a lost child but a wandering and demented elderly man. And yet, King County officials gave it their all, deploying not only men and women but some of their best equipment to try to find Randles.
Dozens of others came here from Tacoma, Port Orchard and Seattle to help — all on their own dime. Among the volunteers were members of a rescue team with dogs trained to sniff through rubble, animals that were in Haiti two years ago in the aftermath of its horrendous earthquake.
The Island, too, showed its deep commitment to human life. People emailed The Beachcomber, called and stopped us in the street, asking what we knew. Many wanted to help. Some were frustrated King County wasn’t doing more. Many simply took longer walks than normal in the woods on Maury Island, hoping their mutts might find what the trained dogs hadn’t.
Vashon’s own highly trained emergency responders — volunteer members of our Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) — were among our local heroes. Many of them retired Islanders, they put on untold miles, searching with the discipline and focus of professional rescue workers. It was their largest deployment to date, and county officials said they were deeply impressed by their contribution to the effort.
Over the course of those intense few days, we got a glimpse of just what it is we’re made of and how deeply we care. Jack Randles, meanwhile, will soon be living in a new unit created just for people with dementia. And while he’ll likely miss his perambulations across Maury Island, his family will no doubt sleep easier.
