Woman Missing Eight Years Is Home for Christmas

Reuters ^

[Dallas]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) -

A woman who had been wandering the streets for eight years was headed home for a Christmas reunion with her family because she remembered she once had invested in the stock market.

When a bedraggled Alice Perley wandered into the brokerage firm of A.G. Edwards & Sons in Nashville earlier this week the first person she met by the elevator was Michael Guess.

"I could tell she was homeless," Guess, a financial analyst with the firm, told Reuters on Friday. "It was obvious she needed help."

When the woman told him she thought she had some money invested with the firm, Guess was skeptical but "we need to help people regardless and I wasn't going to walk away from her." So the 44-year-old Guess invited the woman into his office and listened to her story.

"She was vague about everything except that she remembered the name of our firm and felt that somehow she had money with us," said Guess.

Guess said he and another broker took some cash from their own pockets to give her but she refused, insisting she had money in an account.

"I knew something was going on then," Guess said. "So I put through a call to our company's office in Atlanta and asked them to check on it."

A few minutes later he had confirmation that Perley was a client -- and that she had been missing for eight years despite exhaustive search efforts by her family.

Guess said it appeared that Perley, a college graduate with a chemistry degree, property and other investments, had disappeared from her home in Kentucky after a painful divorce. She left a commercial flight during a stopover at Nashville's airport and lived in the woods, on the streets and in shelters in the intervening years.

The firm refused to say what her investment amounted to or to characterize it in any way, citing customer confidentiality.

While Guess was still on the phone with the Edwards office in Atlanta, the woman's brother, Fred Perley of Charlotte, N.C., called and talked to her.

"She was happy -- really very happy when she heard her brother's voice," Guess said. "It was obvious she was ready to come home. At that point, I left the office to give them privacy but I don't mind saying I felt a real glow myself."

The brother came to Nashville Friday to take the woman home. Said Guess:

"Well, that's what Christmas is really all about, isn't it? We're not supposed to judge others. We're supposed to remember to help one another and not just walk on by -- aren't we?"

[ventana]

Lump in my throat bump. V's wife.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

God bless us, every one.

[Dallas]

Me too....

[goody2shooz]

WOW! A really good holiday story with a happy ending, money included.

[NautiNurse]

Wow! So many things came together to provide a fabulous Christmas for a lot of people in this story.

[RightOnline]

OK.......I'm confused. Did she suffer from amnesia? Did she know her own name? If not, what did the folks in the Atlanta office "look up"?? If she DID know her name, why was she so........lost??

Sorry......just too many holes in this story.

[isthisnickcool]

Cool story.....

[HaveGunWillTravel]

Its the money that makes the difference. Otherwise, they would have kicked her to the curb.

[Sabertooth]

Great, feel-good Chrismas post. Thanks.

[Righty1]

Probably guilt that they lost the money through churning and other crooked practices.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Michael Guess deserves some sort of recognition award for this kind of service and personal humanitarian-style help.

[Dallas]

In case anyone wants to send Mr Guess a Christmas Card....

A.G. EDWARDS
(C/O) Michael Guess
230 4TH AVENUE NORTH SUITE 200
NASHVILLE, TN 37219-2104
local phone: 615-244-4000

[Saundra Duffy]

Guess said it appeared that Perley, a college graduate with a chemistry degree, property and other investments, had disappeared from her home in Kentucky after a painful divorce.

Sounds like a democrat.

[spector]

So that's what happen to my ex # 2!....I guess she's gonna want to move back in.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I believe this story. This woman clearly went off the deep end due to the divorce. I think it's wonderful that Mr. Guess made the leap of faith - true human faith - and believed the woman when she had these memories.

[Dallas]

Bump #13

[Gabz]

Oh, WOW - great story.

[Fiddlstix]

Thanks for posting this
I just emailed a copy of it to my broker at A.G. Edwards & Sons
They're a good company. I've done business with them for years

Merry Christmas
&
God Bless

[Shooter 2.5]

I keep thinking the same thing. She has amnesia and she somehow knew all the information on her account. The firm which handles my accounts asks for my name, Social Security number and PIN. The only thing I can think they were able to help her is if someone in the particular office knew her personally, which is possible.
She might have said that she had an account with the firm and they only have a few offices. The people in the correct office may have remembered the news accounts of the missing woman. If the people at the headquarter were able to work with the woman and take the time with as little information as they had, they deserve a hats off congratulations.