WOODHEAD Mountain Rescue team helped find an 84-year-old dementia sufferer who had been missing for two days.
The team, based at Langsett, were called in by police to help in the search for Connie Wilkinson who has Alzheimer's and had gone missing from her home near Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, Doncaster.
Despite extensive efforts by the police to find her, including the use of a helicopter, police dogs and mounted police, Connie could not be found. Members of multiple Mountain Rescue teams were involved in an extensive search with more than 70 volunteers as well as specialist search and rescue dogs.
The teams focussed initially on searching parts of the wildlife reserve at Potteric Carr closest to where Connie was last seen, gradually spreading the search area wider. Unfortunately, Connie was still missing that night, meaning that she spent a second night out in the cold and rain.
On the next day following a sighting from a member of the public, Connie was found laid on her side at the bottom of an embankment at the side of the motorway. She was sunburned on one side and dehydrated - but otherwise in good health, uninjured and extremely happy that she had been found.
She had been living outside with no food, water or shelter since for two days and nights.
Connie is now doing well recovering in hospital. Her very relieved family have expressed their immense gratitude to all those professionals and volunteers who helped find her.
Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team is a volunteer organisation that relies on team fund-raising and donations by the public to fund annual running costs.
WMRT provides a search and rescue service to local communities and has been involved with flooding, searching for missing or lost people and providing support to the Yorkshire Ambulance with evacuation of casualties from rural environments.
To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/wmrt
