Elderly Woman With Dementia Rescued From Ravine In Montgomery Village

MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD — A Montgomery County Police officer found and rescued a missing elderly woman from a ravine near her home in Montgomery Village Saturday, police said.

At about 8:49 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a residence in Montgomery Village for the report of a missing person. The woman's daughter told police that her 78-year-old mom, who had been exhibiting signs of dementia, left her home sometime during the night.

The woman was only wearing a nightgown, socks and a red wool hat, police said. The daughter woke in the morning to find the home's front door open and her mother missing.

Additional officers, a K9 team and a MCP Search Manager team were called to the area to assist in the search. At about 10:34 a.m., Officer Laura Blankman found the woman lying in a rocky ravine in a wooded area with limited access behind the 1900 block of Capehart Dr., police said.

The woman was found unharmed and she was taken to a local hospital for a check-up.

Montgomery County Police provided a text conversation between Officer Blankman and Officer Laurie Reyes of the Autism/Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Outreach Unit.

Officer Blankman texted, "Not to sound corny but when I was walking looking for her I was praying out loud and said God help me and find her and let her be safe. I kid you not less than five minutes later I found her."

Photos: Montgomery County Police Department.