She was probably running out of resources. "She didn't know where she was or how to get home. Jeff said his sister may have been more forgetful lately, but there was nothing that indicated she would have any trouble making the trip to the dog show, something she has done for several years.Ĭaprez is relieved the situation had a happy ending and that those who feared the senior was in trouble can now rest easy. "Certainly, a lot of relief and gratitude." "Without it, we would have never found her," he said. He stressed how grateful he was to Akron and Pennsylvania police and for the Flock system. On Thursday, Jeff was making arrangements to take a bus to Akron and bring his sister back to Illinois. I'm just driving west,'" Sixcox said.ĮMS was called and the woman was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General for evaluation. "I said, 'Do you know where you are?' She goes, 'Somewhere in Ohio, but I have no idea. "Half the city came looking for her," Simcox said.Ībout three minutes later, another officer spotted the vehicle and pulled over the woman near the intersection of North Portage Path and Twin Oaks. Brian Simcox received a Flock alert- matching the Subaru- on his computer in his cruiser and notified dispatch. on Wednesday, a camera positioned at Memorial Parkway and Uhler Avenue picked up the plate of a blue Subaru Ascent driven by the woman considered to be in danger. "They were both physically and electronically trying to find her," he said.Īround 11:30 a.m. Her brother, Jeff, said worried friends from the dog show began searching wooded areas and lakes looking for any sign of her. "We're here to help people and this tool allows us to do that," Caprez said.Īccording to family, the woman had traveled to Macungie, Pennsylvania and attended a dog show.īut when she didn't make it back to her home in Peoria, Illinois and friends couldn't locate her, Macungie police entered her license plate and information into the National Crime Information Center. In September, Deputy Chief Mike Caprez demonstrated the license plate readers to News 5 and said the cameras will help police spot stolen cars and vehicles used in other crimes, but he also stressed the system could be an important tool to locate missing people. Eventually, there will be 145 cameras installed. The cameras have been popping up all over Akron. "I think she might have been suffering from the beginning stages of dementia," said Deputy Chief Mike Caprez. The Akron Police Department is crediting the newly-installed Flock automated license plate reader system for providing the clues that helped track down the senior citizen and reunite her with her family. AKRON, Ohio - A 73-year-old woman, who was missing and considered endangered, is safe after Akron police found her nearly 500 miles away from her home.
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