Portsmouth police responded to a home after a man reported that someone had stolen all of his money and other belongings.
According to the police report, officers determined the theft claim was unfounded.
The larger concern was the man himself.
Police said he has dementia, lives alone, owns multiple firearms, and has unsafe weapon-handling habits.
Because of that, the responding officer recommended that two officers be sent to any future calls at the home because of officer safety concerns.
Police said the man appeared to be in decent physical health.
Officers also found that the doors and windows were locked. The man had his money and debit cards with him inside a plastic zip-lock bag and believed someone had entered the home and taken them.
Police said that claim was disproven.
Adult Protective Services was contacted during the call.
An APS worker told police the report would be forwarded for follow-up.
No arrest was made.
The troubling part of this call was not the missing money.
It was an elderly man with dementia, living alone, with access to multiple firearms and a history of unsafe gun handling.
That creates a difficult situation for everyone involved — the man, neighbors, family, Adult Protective Services, and officers who may have to respond again.
Police can determine that a theft did not happen.
The harder question is what happens next when someone with serious memory problems is still living alone with guns.