K-9s, Drones Help Find Missing Londonderry Woman With Alzheimer’s

LONDONDERRY, NH — Londonderry police thanked members of the community, first responders, and technology for assisting in the search for a woman with Alzheimer’s and dementia who went missing on Sunday night or Monday morning.

In her early 80s, the woman was reported missing from a home on Quarry Road at around 7 a.m. Her husband said he last saw her around 11 p.m. on Sunday and suspected she had left their home overnight.

“LPD officers responded, began a search, and asked for the public’s help via social media,” Capt. Patrick Cheetham of the Londonderry Police Department said. “After searching the immediate area without success, officers established a command post nearby and deployed the LPD drone units and an LPD K-9 team.”

After a few hours, police requested more assistance, including the Hudson police K-9 team, the Manchester Police Drone Team, the NH Fish and Game Rescue Team, and the Londonderry ALERT Team — a volunteer civilian search and rescue team based in Londonderry. A Silver Alert also went out, sent by New Hampshire State Police.

At around noon, a member of the ALERT Team found someone who looked like the woman inside of an unlocked vehicle at another part of the road, Cheetham said. Police arrived, confirmed it was the woman, and called Londonderry firefighters and EMTs to have her treated and medically cleared. She was returned to her husband not long after.

Cheetham thanked everyone who assisted with the case both in town and out.

“The FB post had more than 2,700 shares that reached more than 109,000 people, which helped us quickly spread the word and share a photo,” he said. “With overnight temperatures in the low 30s, every minute counts in a search and rescue operation like this.”

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.