APTLY sporting a t-shirt with the slogan ‘It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves’ dementia sufferer, the “unbreakable” Bob Maher was back amongst the emergency personnel this week who worked together to save his life when his family reported him missing earlier this year.
Bob was missing for 22 hours when he was finally found by rescue personnel on July 26.
He had wandered off and become disorientated due to his dementia the evening before.
The local PSNI, a police search advisor, the Fire Service, the North West Mountain Rescue Team, RNLI, Coast Guard and the Community Search and Rescue Team along with members of the local community were all involved in the search for Bob.
In a celebration at Carrybridge Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, he and his family paid tribute to the multi-agency team who worked tirelessly to bring him safely home.
During the event it was acknowledged that it could so easily have been a very different story for Bob.
And it is believed that it is only due to his sheer physical strength as a seasoned sailor and kayaker, that he managed to survive the harsh winds, rain and cold temperatures that Fermanagh experienced on the night that he went missing.
“If anyone was going to survive the night, Bob was,” said one of the emergency personnel who knows the retired art teacher well.
“I don’t think anyone truly appreciated just how unbreakable Bob really was,” said his wife during the celebration.
According to Chief Inspector Clive Beatty 35 people go missing every day in Northern Ireland.
“Bob went for his normal wander but the seasoned sailor was blown off course that night and didn’t make his way home,” he said.

“His family did the right thing by calling the police to report he was missing. And they actually gave us all the key vital information we needed to grade the risk as ‘high’, enabling us to call upon all the support services to help bring the search to a positive conclusion.”
In an attempt to explain what it is like for someone living with dementia, John McErlane, one of the founders of Dementia NI said there were “good days and bad days” for sufferers.

Diagnosed six years ago when he was only 52, he said he was trying to break down the stigma surrounding the disease.
“I use a bus every day,” he said, “I have to keep looking and looking at the route name of the bus to make sure I know where I am going. If I got off at the wrong place, that confusion only gets worse. It is like you are in a black hole and your mind is doing overtime.
“I look at Bob’s situation and think that could easily be me tomorrow and I am humbled that you guys are here to help.”
Bob’s daughter, Christine likened the multi-agency search and rescue that was launched for her father as being something “out of the A-Team”. 
“You can never explain unless you are in that situation just how much it meant to feel that we were not on our own,” she said.