Edmonton taxi driver finds missing woman, gets her home

Edmonton cab driver Tejbir Badesha is being recognized for locating a missing person. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson has his story.

A taxi cab driver’s attention to police releases helped him reunite a woman with her family the same day she went missing.

Yellow Cab company driver Tejbir Badesha often spends his days at the airport, where he parks and waits for someone to signal for a ride.

On Nov. 7, Badesha was scrolling through social media while parked at the airport when an alert for a missing 47-year-old woman popped up.

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The alert was issued, Edmonton police said, because she wasn’t dressed for the weather and there was concern for her well-being as she had a medical condition.

Later that day in south Edmonton, Badesha was dispatched to Value Village to pick up that same woman.

“I never forget if I’ve seen something. That’s my responsibility, right?” Badesha said in an interview Tuesday.

He reported the situation to his dispatcher, who in turn called the police.

Upon getting her home safely, Badesha said her family was unable to pay for her unexpected $40 trip – but he still says it felt good knowing he got her home safe.

“(It feels) really great to help someone like that, you know? This is a part of our customer service,” he said.

And Yellow Cab president Philip Strong said while it’s not unheard of for taxi drivers to play a role in investigations, this particular situation “doesn’t happen that often.”

“Our drivers are good citizens,” Strong told CTV News Edmonton. “They want to help when they can … drivers know the city very well, they can recognize if something’s wrong.”

The company gave Badesha a plaque and gas gift card to recognize his effort.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson