FARMINGTON – Three students at the University of Maine at Farmington were recognized today for their actions, which saved the life of a woman in her seventies at the end of November.
On Tuesday, November 28, at approximately 12:38 p.m., officers from Farmington Police Department received a report of a missing 77-year-old woman, Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles wrote in the award letter. Family members had indicated that she left home earlier in the morning and had not returned. This, coupled with the woman leaving her cell phone at home and missing an appointment, raised further concerns as these were atypical behaviors for the missing individual.
Farmington PD officers started a local search of common destinations, and issued a description and vehicle information to other police agencies in the region. As the temperatures dropped, concerns for the woman’s health and safety escalated. With daytime high temperatures at 37 degrees and sunset dropping the temperatures to nearly 14 degrees, officers began the process of issuing a ‘Silver Alert’ for the missing woman.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., the Franklin County Regional Communications Center received a 911 call that proved crucial, Charles said.
Student athletes and members of the Cross Country team James Reel, Andrew Laflamme, and Luke Bliss were out on a seven-mile training run when they decided to go for an extra mile. By lengthening their run, they circled the lower end of a remote parking area behind the campus Fitness and Recreation Center. They located the missing woman on the ground outside her car. Having suffered a minor head injury, the woman was unable to get up. The trio called 911 and took steps to try to warm and protect her, working with the dispatcher to provide first aid.
Law enforcement and emergency medical services responded to the scene and the woman was transported to the hospital. Her core temperature had dropped as low as 88 degrees, Charles reported, and it appears that she suffered a medical event in the parking lot at the gym from which she was unable to recover.
James Reel, Andrew Laflamme, and Luke Bliss were recognized with Farmington PD’s Lifesaving Award during a training session at Dearborn Gym on Thursday, December 7. In addition, they were presented with challenge coins from Farmington PD and patches from the University of Maine at Farmington’s Campus Police.
Bliss said that they had actually run through that same parking lot earlier in the day but on the return trip he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and that was how they found her. She had her keys with her, so they were able to get her into her car to help shield her from the elements.
Reel said there were a lot of ‘random coincidences’ that led up to them finding her, including the spontaneous decision to extend their training run. When they found her, he ran to find a phone to call for help, while his teammates started to provide care. Reel was able to locate someone who loaned him a cell phone, and he went back to provide first aid directions to his teammates and ensure that first responders could find them.
All three students expressed relief at hearing that the woman would recover. After turning her over to first responders, they did not know the outcome of the incident, and they were thankful to hear that she would be okay.
James Reel, of Nashua NH, is a junior at UMF. Andrew Laflamme, also from Nashua, is a freshman, and Luke Bliss, of Underhill VT, is a senior. All three are members of the UMF Cross Country team.
With temperatures continuing to drop as night fell, and given the out-of-the-way location where she was located, Charles said the team’s actions that afternoon certainly saved her life. Charles also noted that he was not on that call, but he obtained a copy of the call from dispatch; he said that Reel was calm, cool and collected while on the phone with dispatch and giving directions to his teammates. Remaining composed in a high-pressure situation can help keep the situation under control and contributes to a positive outcome, which was the case in this incident.
