Cecil Cloyed was in the middle of a busy mail route in early April when he heard a faint cry for help coming from the home of 80-year-old Alicia Ramos, one of the residents he had known for years.
As he paused and listened more closely, the longtime United States Postal Service worker sensed something was wrong. After trying to knock on the door and couldn’t find a spare key to get in to the home, he called 911.
When first responders arrived, they Ramos had been stranded alone for three days after a bad fall — unable to reach help, and with only the sound of Cloyed’s footsteps to give her hope.
“Her mailbox is not on the curbside, because she’s older,” Cloyed explained at an April 8 city council meeting. “She gets special treatment,” he smiled. “We go to her house. And I heard something as I go to put the mail in the box — it wasn’t normal.”
