NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — In a mix-up blending concern with confusion, a 71-year-old man rode his motorbike for 38 hours, spanning 350 kilometers across Taiwan after taking a wrong turn following a visit to his daughter, according to authorities.
The elderly man from Kaohsiung, surnamed Kuo, initially planned to return home after visiting his daughter in Taitung on Dec. 5. Mistakenly veering off course due to fading memory, Kuo found himself in the Sanxia District of New Taipei City, after more than a day on the road.
Physically exhausted, Kuo sought help from a local shop in Sanxia. Realizing the situation's urgency, the storekeepers contacted the Henghsi Police Station. Officers were dispatched to assist the disoriented man.
Reluctant to trouble his daughter, Mr. Kuo initially withheld her contact information. But after the officers patiently communicated with him, he provided the details they needed to contact her.
Since his daughter was in Taitung and could not reach him quickly, she asked relatives in northern Taiwan to assist.
In the meantime, the police took care of Mr. Kuo, allowing him to rest at the police station until his relatives arrived to ensure his safe return home, highlighting a compassionate response from the authorities and the community to an elder's misadventure.
