Absegami High School Senior Rescues Missing Woman From Abandoned Building

Galloway, NJ -- An Absegami High School senior has rescued an 84-year-old woman who went missing Tuesday night from an abandoned building, Galloway Police said Wednesday afternoon.

Leo Capone, a student in the senior option program at the school, was leaving the school on Wednesday when he found Antonia Vocino trapped in the second floor of an abandoned home banging on the window and calling for help.

Capone quickly called 9-1-1, and police responded to the scene. They were able to rescue Vocino, who was evaluated by medical personnel.

Vocino and her dog, a small white poodle, are both in good health, police said.

Vocino, who suffers from the early stages of dementia, was reported missing Tuesday night when she walked away from her home on Thoreau Terrace in The Sunrise Bay Condominium Complex at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Capone and his friend Sonny Joshie, also a senior at Absegami, were passing by the abandoned building around 10:45 a.m. when they heard someone yelling for help from inside, according to the Galloway Current.

He said he did what his instincts told him to do when he kicked in the door to the vacant townhouse, according to the report. He also said he alerted her son Michael, who had told Capone she was missing earlier in the day. Michael went to the complex with Capone and Joshie to rescue his mother.

Capone's mother, Kristina, told The Press of Atlantic City that this reinforces her belief that her son should join the Coast Guard, and that she is "very proud" of her son.

The attached image of Antonia Vocino was previously provided by Galloway Police