Man, 91, Who Asks Darien Police for Directions Was Missing from New Jersey

Friday the 13th was a lucky day for Curtis Hall, a 91-year-old East Orange, NJ man, and for his family. It was the day Darien police persuaded him to stay at the police station lobby for hours.

Police gave this account of the matter:

At 4:30 p.m., Hall entered Darien Police Headquarters at 25 Hecker Ave. to ask for directions back home to New Jersey, but when an officer tried to explain how to get back on nearby Interstate 95, Hall seemed to have trouble understanding them.

That raised suspicions about whether Hall might be missing, and a check of the FBI’s National Crime Information Center system showed that a missing-person report had been filed in New Jersey. Hall had been reported missing the previous day (although no “Silver Alert” had been posted). His daughter was contacted.

Hall sat in the lobby waiting (for what must have been hours) for his daughter to arrive. Police gave him soda, but no food, and he didn’t have any medical condition appearing to need care. His daughter arrived later, and a friend drove his car back home.