The Green Zone: Riders' Jeremy O'Day preparing for 2025
2h ago
O'Day discusses Trevor Harris and changes to be made to get the Riders back to the Grey Cup.
A Saskatoon missing person’s case that ended in heartbreak over the weekend has family members talking about ways future tragedies can be prevented.
On Thursday, 89-year-old Kay Braget set out in her car for a pot luck. Family believe she became disoriented and never made it home.
Her abandoned 1996 Chev Lumina was discovered Saturday near the Evergreen neighbourhood, on the outskirts of the city. Her body was found nearby.
Saskatoon police said they didn’t think foul play was a factor in her death. In an earlier news release, officers noted Braget was showing early signs of dementia.
Braget’s nephew told 650 CKOM Tuesday the senior was doing fine, adding they had no reason to worry about her being out on her own.
“She had her apartment and she was living on her own. She had a whole bunch of friends,” Al Bakke said. “My wife and I were over to my cousin’s place for supper before Christmas and Kay was there and she was a 100 per cent.”
Silver Alert program
The tragedy, and others like it, have prompted calls for a silver alert program to be implemented in Saskatchewan.
The program functions like an amber alert, but instead of police asking for the public’s help in finding a missing child, the target is a missing senior.
The state of Florida has activated the program 180 times since last July and the vast majority of seniors have been recovered.
There have been just three cases in the state where it hasn’t been successful.
Braget’s nephew said until such a program is actually implemented in Saskatoon, he urges people to watch out for one another.
He said if someone comes across a senior who seems lost, disoriented or confused, they should take the time to make sure the person gets to where they’re going. Contacting a family member is another good step.
“If you have any notion that this person is disoriented, you really should try to get somebody who knows them to take over,” Bakke said.
“When you get mixed up, you don’t know where you are, so that would have helped her maybe.”