Elderly woman spent 12 hours outside in freezing rain.
By: Kara Fitzpatrick
MONTGOMERY An 86-year-old resident of Stonebridge at Montgomery spent 12 hours outdoors in freezing rain while pinned underneath a motorized scooter before township police rescued her early Saturday morning.
Saying she held no resentment over how long it took to find her, Jean Woodward said, "I’m glad I’m alive."
Ms. Woodward had been missing from the continuing-care retirement community since approximately 3 p.m. Friday, said police.
It was not unusual for Ms. Woodward, an active woman, to leave her apartment on her scooter, said Chuck Mooney, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Presbyterian Homes and Services.
During her Friday excursion, "Apparently, her electric scooter went off the blacktop," said Mr. Mooney, and the machine toppled over.
When Ms. Woodward did not return to the unit for her medication that evening, Stonebridge staff began "a very exhaustive search" but could not locate her, said Mr. Mooney. "Based on the result of the first search, (the staff) called their supervisors," he added.
After reorganizing and searching again with no trace of Ms. Woodward, Stonebridge personnel notified the police, said Mr. Mooney.
The call came in at 2:46 a.m., and Ms. Woodward was found about 15 minutes later in a grassy area just east of the Montgomery 1860 House.
Ms. Woodward was "semi-conscious, breathing and very, very cold," said Police Director Michael Beltranena.
Ms. Woodward returned to Stonebridge on Wednesday evening "in remarkably good humor. She is really resilient," said Mr. Mooney.
Ms. Woodward said she is "very chagrined" that she left the unit without wearing her WanderGuard pendant an emergency alert device that can send out a distress signal.
"She unfortunately decided not to wear the pendant because it was getting tangled up in her glasses," said Mr. Mooney.
Mr. Mooney said he feels Stonebridge policies were followed, but added that the state Department of Heath was notified of the incident.
Mr. Beltranena said a police investigation is being conducted to learn why Stonebridge staff waited 12 hours to contact police once they believed Ms. Woodward was missing. Mr. Mooney said Stonebridge will conduct its own investigation to ensure proper policies were followed.
"What was unusual here was that Ms. Woodward was highly independent," said Mr. Mooney. Because of her established pattern of coming and going, he said, "It caused us not to be alarmed as early as we might otherwise have been."
But, Mr. Mooney said, Stonebridge is taking steps to make sure this incident won’t be repeated, including re-training sessions for employees. In addition, "Ms. Woodward’s Amigo cart now has a WanderGuard pendant attached to it," he said.
Ms. Woodward seems to have learned a lesson as well.
"What I did was a foolish thing," said Ms. Woodward. "I am very grateful that so many people devoted their time to make sure I was OK. That’s about the whole story."