Found Safe MA - Janusz Melewski, 77, & Stanislawa Melewski, 94, left home in Webster, stopped in Shrewsbury asking for dir back home, 13 Dec 2022

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WEBSTER, Mass. — Webster police have issued a Silver Alert for a missing married couple from Webster who was last seen on Tuesday.

Janusz Melewski, 77, and Stanislawa Melewski, 94, have not been seen at their residence since 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Police said the pair reportedly stopped in Shrewsbury at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday to ask for directions to return home, but never arrived at their residence.

The Melewskis are believed to be in a gray 2001 Lincoln Continental with Massachusetts license plate 976JVO.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 508-943-1212.

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www.wcvb.com

Silver Alert issued for missing couple from Webster

Janusz Melewski, 77, and Stanislawa Melewski, 94, have not been seen at their residence since 11 a.m. Tuesday.
www.wcvb.com www.wcvb.com
 
Webster MA is only 24 miles south of Shrewsbury MA. It should take about 28 minutes by car, according to Google Maps.

If they stopped and asked for directions once, surely they could've done it again.
What stopped them getting back home such a short distance?

What is the snow/ice situation like in eastern MA now?

The route mainly involves I-395 and it looks pretty wide, flat and safe. Forested down the sides.

Doesn't look like any twisty roads or danger spots.
 
This sounds like one or both of the Melewskis have dementia. Normally, I think they would know the way home. They probably can't recall landmarks and streets they once knew. This reminds me of my own father, also from New England, who drove a similar car and had dementia. He got lost once for over 6 hours, forgetting his way home. Eventually, friendly people at a restaurant guided him home. He was over 20 miles out of the way. May the Melewskis come home safely. It is cold and windy today.. I think there's some snow and ice, though. The Worcester area - the general area - gets more snow than Eastern MA.
 
annpats said:
Webster MA is only 24 miles south of Shrewsbury MA. It should take about 28 minutes by car, according to Google Maps.

If they stopped and asked for directions once, surely they could've done it again.
What stopped them getting back home such a short distance?

What is the snow/ice situation like in eastern MA now?

The route mainly involves I-395 and it looks pretty wide, flat and safe. Forested down the sides.

Doesn't look like any twisty roads or danger spots.
Click to expand...
They don't seem to have had any appreciable snowfall or ice recently.
 

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What were the chances of them both suffering from dementia and having memory problems at the same time? Because early stage dementia can come and go....it's not 24/7.

If it WAS bad, I would have hoped they wouldn't have gone out in their car like that.....or at least their families should have prevented it. I know curtailing people's freedom is harsh, but if dementia is a problem, it needs to be done as a duty or care.

I hope we hear back from their family as to whether there is a memory/dementia issue.
 
One of the Melewskis could also have eye problems, such as cataracts or macular degeneration, with problems driving or observing things at night. It was dark when they were last seen.

It can be very difficult, by the way, to stop someone with dementia from driving.
 
There was actually a snowstorm a few days ago that caused multiple accidents across that area.

www.masslive.com

Worcester police respond to 43 car crashes resulting in 3 injuries during snowstorm

The snowstorm, which started midday Sunday, dropped just 2.5 inches of snow on the city.
www.masslive.com www.masslive.com

For those of you not familiar with the area, it is VERY dark in central MA. Even the interstate is dark. There are also hills and roads that are not always linear. There are a bunch of historic buildings and when the roads were built, they were built around the buildings. I can totally see a car going off the road if there's any ice on the roads. Fingers crossed for this couple. I hope they're ok.

MOO.
 
annpats said:
What were the chances of them both suffering from dementia and having memory problems at the same time? Because early stage dementia can come and go....it's not 24/7.

If it WAS bad, I would have hoped they wouldn't have gone out in their car like that.....or at least their families should have prevented it. I know curtailing people's freedom is harsh, but if dementia is a problem, it needs to be done as a duty or care.

I hope we hear back from their family as to whether there is a memory/dementia issue.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen anything indicating dementia. They may have some memory issues just given their ages, but people with memory issues don't necessarily get lost. That's a very specific symptom that most don't have.

I lived in the area when I was in my 20s. Even in my 20s, I got lost many times the first year I was there, usually when going somewhere I hadn't been before. It's dark as hell and the roads really are confusing. GPS says "go straight" and you're at a literal fork in the road and that's because of how the roads are constructed. If you go straight, you're going to hit a building. MA, as a whole, is like that. That's why I prefer driving in NYC. At least you're not getting lost in NYC, scary as the drivers are.

Also, it gets dark around 4:30 this time of year. By 6:15, it's pitch black.

MOO.
 
BeginnerSleuther said:
I haven't seen anything indicating dementia. They may have some memory issues just given their ages, but people with memory issues don't necessarily get lost. That's a very specific symptom that most don't have.

I lived in the area when I was in my 20s. Even in my 20s, I got lost many times the first year I was there, usually when going somewhere I hadn't been before. It's dark as hell and the roads really are confusing. GPS says "go straight" and you're at a literal fork in the road and that's because of how the roads are constructed. If you go straight, you're going to hit a building. MA, as a whole, is like that. That's why I prefer driving in NYC. At least you're not getting lost in NYC, scary as the drivers are.

Also, it gets dark around 4:30 this time of year. By 6:15, it's pitch black.

MOO.
Click to expand...

If they lived in a relatively small town like Webster, I'm sure they are accustomed to the roads. It's part of living in the area. If they are disoriented, had a medical emergency or an accident, their vehicle could have gone off the road and into the woods.
 
Someone mentioned dementia/memory, so I thought it was worth noting it was unlikely they both had a memory lapse at the same time.

It's odd that they've just disappeared.

If their car had a problem, they could soon get help, or flag someone down.

I wonder how long they have lived in this area? If it's most of their lives, you would think they'd be used to travelling short 30 minute distances.

I wonder if they went to visit someone on the spur of the moment, but didn't tell family? Then again, it seems like they asked for directions to get BACK home....

Oh, I don't know. I hope it's all been a misunderstanding and they're safe somewhere.
 
Warwick1991 said:
If they lived in a relatively small town like Webster, I'm sure they are accustomed to the roads. It's part of living in the area. If they are disoriented, had a medical emergency or an accident, their vehicle could have gone off the road and into the woods.
Click to expand...

True, I'm just saying that even for people who live in the area, if they're new transplants, it's very easy to lose your way especially on dark rural roads. It's also very easy to hit a patch of black ice and go off the road or to even drive off the road if you can't see well.
 
annpats said:
Someone mentioned dementia/memory, so I thought it was worth noting it was unlikely they both had a memory lapse at the same time.

It's odd that they've just disappeared.

If their car had a problem, they could soon get help, or flag someone down.

I wonder how long they have lived in this area? If it's most of their lives, you would think they'd be used to travelling short 30 minute distances.

I wonder if they went to visit someone on the spur of the moment, but didn't tell family? Then again, it seems like they asked for directions to get BACK home....

Oh, I don't know. I hope it's all been a misunderstanding and they're safe somewhere.
Click to expand...
It is probable that only one of them - probably the driver - has dementia. The other one could have other medical issues, such as poor eyesight. In my father's case, he continued to drive as his dementia worsened. His wife had milder dementia. And yes, they did get lost together, with my father driving. My father's driving skills weren't that bad - he'd been driving since he was 14 - but unless he was about 5 miles from home, he could get lost. They did, on occasion, have to ask people how to get home, and they were lucky that no one took advantage of them or worse. And there was no getting the keys away from them...

The sighting of the car in nearby Worcester at 4:30 AM could be a sign that they were OK then, although there's no verification that that the Melewskis were in their car. I hope they are found soon and they are OK.
 
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