My old golden retiever when she was ~14-15. The vet later explains she has had stroke which is why her face is a little crooked. Her mind is probably a bit damage too with the stroke.
But she has some how wandered out of the backyard/house. Then she walk to a main street with quite a bit of traffic. The police catch her and delivered her back home. (with the police barricade tape which is blue and white tied as a big ribbon to walk her back home)
Another case was with the train station call us up, she is found wandering around the train station.
In both cases, it is the general direction towards our old house. She does not wander away from home when she is younger (before the stroke). She passed away at 15.5year old. She is a great family dog.