Arizona boy, 14, helps save woman with dementia wandering in 103°F heat
A 14-year-old boy in Arizona is being honored for helping an elderly woman with dementia who was wandering in dangerous 103°F heat. The teenager used his phone to contact the woman's son and stayed with her until emergency services arrived.
Why it matters
The story underscores the importance of community awareness and quick action in preventing heat-related tragedies among vulnerable populations.
As large portions of the western and central United States along with regions across Western Europe and Central Asia face dangerous and record-breaking heatwaves, a 14-year-old Arizona teen's quick thinking has created headlines and awareness. An Arizona fire department will be formally honouring Royal Cothrun who helped save an elderly woman with dementia after she wandered miles off course amid potentially lethal temperatures, saying the teenager demonstrated "heroism... quick thinking and compassion."Cothrun was riding his bicycle in June in the town of Gilbert when he encountered Theresa Morgan as she struggled to walk through 103F heat with a grocery bag hanging off one arm and a purse on the other, as per authorities as well as reports by the local news outlet KNXV.
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