Back in September, postal worker Mary McCarty arrived early at the Animas Post Office in New Mexico. She soon spotted an older gentleman and his dog seemingly wandering about the parking lot.
“In his reality, we were in New York, and he didn’t know that he was in Animas New Mexico, he didn’t know how he had gotten there, he didn’t know what he was doing there,” said Mary. “I knew he wasn’t new to the area because I’m at the post office so I kind of know everybody who moves in and out. We have two stop signs and a population of around 200 people.”
Concerned for his well-being, Mary says she approached to see if he needed any help. That’s when the man who said his name was Glenn French told her that he had driven there from New York when his Jeep ran out of gas forcing him to walk through the desert all night. Telling tales of hearing coyotes filling the air.
“He’s like well I need to get a hold of my wife so she can bring me some gas and I said great, 'what’s her name,' 'I don’t remember,' that’s ok,” said Mary recalling the conversation. “I said how about your cell phone can we use your cell phone and give her a call and he says 'I think I left it in the Jeep,' and I said that’s just fine. You could tell he was smart, but the dots just weren’t connecting.”
Mary sensed early on something wasn’t right. Her brother suffered from cognitive challenges, so she quickly recognized the indicators. She calmly sat him down, grabbed him and his dog some water, checked his vitals and decided to contact the local sheriff’s department.
“When the officer got there, my main focus was to be able to run him through the national database to find out, is he reported as a missing person, is someone looking for him,” said Mary.
Little did she know, two hours west across the Arizona state line in Sierra Vista, a contingent of family, friends, strangers and law enforcement were desperately searching for the man now in front of her.
“By the 14-hour mark, we flashed to the thought that we were not going to see him again,” said Glenn’s daughter Christy Zoumis. “Knowing that there’s so many directions he could have gone into the desert, into the mountains, into the canyons, into back roads, anywhere where somebody maybe wouldn’t even find him.”
She says that 14 years ago, her now 68-year-old father suffered a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle accident that nearly took his life. He’d spend time in a coma and miraculously wake up months later.
“He has very severe short-term and long-term memory loss,” said Christy. “Sometimes we can get really good old stories out of him and that twinkle in his eye comes back. Other times it’s just gone.”
Glenn no longer drives but somehow managed to get ahold of the keys and drove off with his dog Maggie before anyone noticed. He only just moved to the small town of Sierra Vista from New York within the past two weeks. After an agonizing day-long search, Christy got an early morning phone call.
“When the call came in, I knew it was either going to be great news or terrible news because that call was coming at 7 a.m.,” said Christy.
On the other end was the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s office providing the former. Telling her thanks to a woman named Mary, Glenn had been found safely.
“When I finally got to talk to his daughter, we had this instant connection, she kept telling me I saved her dad's life,” said Mary through tears.
“She is the brightest spirit, not only did she do everything else, but she also found my father's jeep,” said Christy.
Glenn's jeep had actually run out of gas about a mile from the post office. Christy says she was blown away by the kindness of so many including the Cochise County Sheriff’s office, and the countless neighbors and strangers who searched through the night alongside her family. Two small towns showed what it means to have a big heart.
“It just turned out to be a beautiful experience and I made some really good friends,” said Mary.
The group has since gotten together and even plans to commemorate the day each year with a picnic.
