NEWTON COUNTY, GA. — A man with dementia will reunite Friday with his family after help from a stranger.
James Johnson's family have been looking for the 76-year-old grandfather for months.
Covington councilwoman Fleeta Baggett saw him in the city square Wednesday and went to talk to him. He was lost.
“He wasn’t even aware of what town he was in,” Baggett said.
She said she put him up in a hotel while she tried to find any of his family.
“This morning he was like a different person. He got a really good night’s sleep, I think he felt safe last night,” Baggett said.
Fifty miles away in Athens, Cassandra Gresham is a relative who had been looking for "Mr. James" for two months to reunite him with his three grandchildren.
“He has family, he is loved, and we just want him to come back home,” Baggett said.
With Johnson in a hotel for the moment, Baggett turned to social media to try and find family - and succeeded.
“His eyes brightened up he knew who they were,” Gresham said.
Now there's a plan to get permanent care for Johnson back in Athens, but first he and his family just needed a helping hand.
“I will forever be in her debt for what she has done for him. She will always have a place in my heart,” Gresham said.
“Covington has a heart, and we’re a good town and we look after people and we were just lucky that he ended up here with us,” Baggett said.
Johnson has a history of wandering away from homes so the family said it's time to get him into a facility that can care for patients with his needs.
Baggett said she hopes this story inspires others to not turn away from strangers.
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