Detective Hayden Walker during a search in the central Whangarei area for an 88-year-old woman who was reported missing. PHOTO/JOHN STONE
Detective Hayden Walker during a search in the central Whangarei area for an 88-year-old woman who was reported missing. PHOTO/JOHN STONE
Police say they will be working with the family of an 88-year-old woman who went missing in Whangarei to ensure she can be found easily if she wanders off again.
Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe of Whangarei said the woman, who has dementia, was reported missing about 12.45pm yesterdayand about 12police units scoured inner-city streets looking for her.
"We knew there was going to be some bad weather and you wouldn't want your 88-year-old mother walking around in the rain," he said.
Mr Metcalfe said police believe the woman was found in the Hospice Shop by a member of the public who returned her to her Whangarei home, near the central city, about 2.40pm.
The woman had wandered off before, but this was the first time it had been reported to police, he said.
Mr Metcalfe said police would be working with the woman's family to put measures in place to ensure she would be found easily if she went missing again. This included getting a Wandatrak pendant which would be worn by the woman and had a tracking device inside.
"It makes it so much easier to find them. The reality is, if she had one we would have been able to locate her within 20 minutes to half an hour," he said.
Mr Metcalfe said police had received several calls and messages from members of the public who believed they had sighted the woman.
