A woman who was reported missing from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Monday was found alive a day later, emerging from the woods near the shoreline Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The 43-year-old was reported missing Monday night, according to a news release from the Fairhaven Police Department. The report set off an extensive search involving multiple agencies from the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Search and Rescue Unit.
State police initially said she was found on a rock jetty in New Bedford Harbor, but Fairhaven police later clarified that she walked out of the woods near a hurricane barrier on the shore.
"She is alive, she is well, she's uninjured," Fairhaven police spokesman Lt. Kevin Kobza said.
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Police had searched the area where she was later found Monday, but on Tuesday afternoon, with an officer operating a drone nearby, she walked out of the brush from a wooded area, Kobza said. She was taken to a hospital to be evaluated; Kobza didn't know why she went missing.
"Right now we just want to make sure that she gets the help that she needs," he told reporters.
Family members had told authorities that the woman left her home with her dog, law enforcement said, adding that Fairhaven Animal Control found the dog at around 9:30 a.m. Monday with no sign of the missing woman.
Fairhaven Police Chief Michael Myers activated the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Search and Rescue Unit on Monday. First responders from multiple agencies were searching the shoreline with the help of a drone unit, K-9 units and harbormasters.
Police in Fairhaven put out a call asking for locals to review security camera footage recorded at their homes.
