Update 5:36pm: Brown County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that searchers on the ground were able to locate the lost woman. Emergency responders were able to transport her to her home for evaluation by Guardian EMS.
Original Story: A search that began Monday morning continues for an elderly female who became lost after walking away from her home near Brookesmith on Sunday afternoon, according to Brown County Sheriff’s Office officials.
After being lost overnight since approximately 3:00pm on Sunday, the elderly lady was communicating with search teams through calls to emergency dispatchers in Brown County from a cell phone. A general area between Oak Hill Circle and County Road 202 was being searched throughout the morning and afternoon.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to this area along with Brookesmith Volunteer Fire Department, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to search for the woman. The Texas Department of Public Safety search team, originally in the area to search for two runaway teens from Mills County, joined the search for the elderly woman in the afternoon.
Overnight, temperatures in Brown County dropped into the high 30s. Throughout the late morning hours, the woman attempted to guide deputies to her general location when she was able to hear sirens. According to Brown County Sheriff’s Captain Tony Aaron, dispatch has been on the phone with her.
“Dispatch is on the phone with her but she is confused and having trouble communicating her location,” said Aaron.
Aaron also confirmed that Texas Parks and Wildlife is helping on four wheelers in the search. At 3:30pm, officers in the helicopter were able to get a visual of the woman and worked to give officers on the ground her location; however, their efforts remained unsuccessful as of 4:50pm. The search area was very heavy brush and the woman was said to be sitting exhausted under a tree, somewhere along Clear Creek.
Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Brookesmith Fire Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Department of Public Safety were involved in the search. Guardian EMS was also on scene for medical evaluation of the woman once she is located.
