Cape Cod Residents Find Missing Elderly Woman

YARMOUTH, MA — A pair of Yarmouthport residents found a 97-year-old woman who went missing Tuesday, prompting a heavy police response on Cape Cod. The woman, referred to as "Janet," wandered off from her home on Conservation Drive in Yarmouthport around 4:20 p.m.

Police learned that she had been having memory problems and recently started taking a new medication. It was also not unusual for her to go on walks with her walker, which was found in the wooded part of a driveway on Hockanom Road, according to police.

The emergency response included a K-9 Unit, the Yarmouth Fire Department, the Massachusetts State Police and its Air Wing, the Yarmouth Department of Natural Resources, the Cape and Islands Search and Rescue Team, and various vehicles such as a helicopter, drone, all-terrain vehicles and golf carts, according to Yarmouth police. Code Red and Silver Alerts were issued.

A Unified Command Center was set up at the clubhouse of the Bass River Rod and Gun Club, and three-person search teams were established. Ultimately, the woman was found asleep in the driveway of Fiddler's Green Plaza around 9:10 p.m. by Yarmouthport residents Ben Grew and Shawn Rupani.

She was taken to Cape Cod Hospital for evaluation and released Wednesday morning.

"The Yarmouth Police Department thanks everyone involved in this successful effort and commends Mr. Grew and Mr. Rupani for their vigilance and support," Yarmouth police said in a statement.