Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
CLAYPOOL - Nearly nine hours after walking away from her home, a disoriented elderly woman was reunited with family members after becoming lost and entangled in heavy brush.
Emergency personnel were notified about 4 p.m. Saturday that an elderly female was seen walking near the intersection of CR 700S and County Farm Road and that she refused assistance from a passing motorist.
The motorist then stopped at a nearby residence to notify the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department since he was concerned with the woman walking along the country roads.
The woman was no longer within sight when the man went back outside and a search of the area by sheriff's deputies was unsuccessful. About four to five hours later, she was reported missing by family members who came to the sheriff's department. The woman's name is being withheld at the request of her family.
Another search was organized, with representatives of the KCSD, Silver Lake and Claypool police and fire departments, South Central Emergency Medical Service and Indiana Conservation Officers combing the area.
Officials called the search off at midnight, with plans to reconvene at daybreak.
However, some members of the Claypool and Silver Lake fire departments, as well as some Claypool-area residents, continued the search on their own.
The woman was located about 1 a.m. Sunday by Claypool volunteer firemen Dewayne Allen and Mike Johnson. She was tangled in heavy brush about one-half mile north of CR 700S on County Farm Road. At the scene, the woman was exhausted, but otherwise, "OK," according to a press release. She was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital to be checked by medical professionals.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine said he is grateful to the dedication given the search and said that he is unsure how long it would have continued before she was otherwise found.
