WHITNEY POINT – A New York State Trooper is credited with helping reunite an elderly man who was left behind at a rest stop after his family drove away. The incident began on Monday at the Whitney Point rest area on I-81.
Trooper TJ Conklin was dispatched to check on the welfare of an elderly man at the Whitney Point Rest Area. Conklin responded and learned that the man’s family accidentally left him behind after he stepped out to stretch his legs. The gentleman had no wallet, no phone, and no way to reach his family.
Trooper Conklin used his internet skills to locate family members but none of the phone numbers were correct. Conklin finally got an answer from a family member in another state, who was able to make contact with the gentleman’s family members in the car.
The family had just realized that he wasn’t sleeping in the backseat where he had left his jacket over some baggage.
The man’s family had already traveled three hours away from Whitney Point. Trooper Conklin drove the gentleman to Roscoe in Sullivan County where they all had dinner at a local diner.
