Missing woman with dementia rescued from swampy area after sheriff ’s helicopter spots her
A bird’s-eye view helped locate an elderly Florida woman in a swampy area of a river after she wandered away from her hotel room, according to the Volusia County Sheriff ’s Office.
Bessie Dodson, 72, who has Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, walked alone out of the Motel 6 where she was staying with caregivers in Daytona Beach early Sunday morning, according to the incident report. Dodson was last seen by one caregiver, who is also her power of attorney, around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, the report said.
Dodson last was seen in her room by two other caregivers, one of which shared a room with the elderly woman, at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, according to the report.
Around 6 a.m., the caregiver who was sharing the room with Dodson noticed that Dodson was gone, the report said, and noticed some
of Dodson’s clothes behind the bathroom door.
The report said those women phoned the caregiver who is Dodson’s power of attorney, but she was asleep. She didn’t notice the missed calls until 10:30 a.m., according the report. After the sheriff ’s office was called, deputies watched video provided by the hotel and saw Dodson leaving her room at 5:37 a.m., the report said.
Dodson was spotted by Air One, the helicopter used by the sheriff ’s office, about a half mile from the hotel at approximately 12:30 p.m., according to Andrew Gant, public information officer for the Volusia County Sheriff. She was alone and wearing a blue Christmas sweater with no pants and black shoes, according to the incident report.
Dodson was wet and cold,
the report said, but in good condition. She didn’t know how she got into the river or why she was there, the report said.
Gant said the woman isn’t believed to have family in the area. The Department of Children and Families was notified about the incident, according to the report, and Dodson was taken to Halifax Medical Center for evaluation.