The search for a missing 89-year-old Posey County, Indiana, woman ended in tragedy Monday night when police in Owensboro, Kentucky, found the woman deceased.
Lola Davis, who suffered from dementia, was reported missing by her family Monday after she reportedly walked out of her house in the 8900 block of Middle Mount Vernon Road sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Over the following hours, a sizable contingent of area law enforcement personnel and volunteers fanned out in search of Davis. In public statements, Davis’ family said the expansive search effort included the use of aerial drones, bloodhounds and horses.
Not long after the Indiana State Police issued a Silver Alert in response to Davis’ disappearance Monday night, Owensboro Police Department officers located her deceased, according to the Daviess County Coroner’s Office and Davis’ family.
Owensboro, a city of about 60,000 opposite the Ohio River from Southern Indiana, is a roughly 48-mile drive from Davis’ home in Mount Vernon.
Daviess County Coroner Jeff Jones said an autopsy had not been scheduled as of Tuesday morning. He referred all additional questions to city police.
OPD officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking information about the circumstances surrounding Davis’ death or the status of the investigation. The Courier & Press left a voice message seeking comment with the Posey County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday morning.
“While this is a heartbreaking end and not the outcome we hoped for, we are glad she was found,” Davis’ granddaughter, Tara Gilmore, wrote in a statement late Monday night. “We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support in the community and all the police and fire personnel that searched tirelessly for her today.”
This is a developing story.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Missing Posey County woman found dead in Owensboro, Kentucky
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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