Older people who get lost sometimes sadly lose their lives. But those with dementia are more likely to survive

Being lost in an unfamiliar place is an unsettling feeling most of us have experienced. It requires cognitive and physical skills, and potentially other resources, to find our way and safely arrive at our destination.

This is why up to 60% of people with dementia will experience becoming lost during the course of living with the disease.

We have conducted a study of search and rescue incidents in the United States, and found people over the age of 65 years who go missing will experience (sometimes fatal) harm more than we expected.