A potentially tragic situation took a positive turn early Wednesday morning when deputies from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office located an elderly woman who had gone for an overnight walk before she fell in the woods, where she was stranded for hours.
Authorities say family members discovered that a relative – a woman in her late 90s who lives alone – had left home for a walk around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. She started out onto Goshen Mountain Road in the Batesville community, dressed in thin pants, a puffer coat and shoes.
Concerned, the family contacted authorities and deputies from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, along with units from Habersham County Emergency Services, immediately responded to the area.
Searchers requested a bloodhound from the Banks County Sheriff’s Office and a drone from Habersham County Emergency Services. Before they arrived, a deputy located the missing woman.
It was around 5 a.m. when Habersham County Deputy Justin McClain found the woman alive, conscious, and responsive. Her clothing – the pants in particular – pulled the deputy’s attention as he passed the area in his vehicle a second time.
She was located 50 yards down the road from her home in a wooded area. Authorities say the woman had fallen and was lying in the woods for several hours. The temperature was just 12 degrees.
“There was about 15 to 20 feet of grass, then woods and she was over in the wood-line,” Lt. Matt Wurtz said. “Her pants caught his eye. He had already ridden by a couple of times. She was alert, conscious, and breathing but very cold.”
The woman, who has not been identified, was transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham for treatment.
