Successful environmental navigation requires intact attention, memory and problem solving, all of which are progressively impaired by dementia. People with dementia who get lost have an increased risk of negative outcomes. In Australia no legislated public community alert system exists, so print media is one critical information source supporting safe return.We examined news reports of lost people with dementia in Australia (2011–2015) sourced from the Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newsstand database. Articles meeting inclusion criteria were analyzed for relevant information e.g. age, gender, transport mode, location last seen, time missing, location found, health outcome.Missing people with dementia (n=130, mean age 75, 74% male), typically left home (75%) or residential aged care (25%) and were on foot (62%). Significant resources, e.g. helicopters, police, dogs, search and rescue units and volunteers, were utilized in searches. Ninety two people (71%) were found (73 alive: 60% well, 20% injured; 19 dead). Of the 19 people found dead most were found within 5 km of where they were living and 7 were found within 1 km. Dehydration and exhaustion were the most common issues for those found.Our findings reinforce existing evidence that wandering away from a safe environment alone and getting lost is not a benign event for people living with dementia. Community-level interventions targeting dementia awareness and risk reduction need to be urgently explored to reduce preventable deaths.
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