On a Friday afternoon at 1:50 p.m., the Clay County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding an 80-year-old woman who had gone missing from her residence in Xenia. The report indicated that she had been last seen at 10:00 a.m.
Upon their arrival, deputies spoke to concerned neighbors who provided information that the missing individual had been spotted for the last time around 8:30 a.m. The law enforcement officers immediately initiated a search of the immediate vicinity, but their efforts proved unsuccessful in locating her. Given the urgency of the situation, the sheriff’s office decided to enlist the assistance of a local helicopter company to aid in the search.
The helicopter company swiftly arrived on the scene and deployed a drone equipped with thermal imaging at approximately 3:37 p.m., even before the arrival of the helicopter itself. Remarkably, at 3:40 p.m., the operator reported that they had successfully pinpointed the missing person. She was found beneath a tree, situated amidst a standing cornfield roughly 800 yards from her residence.
Emergency response personnel promptly converged on the location and discovered the individual. Although she was alert, she appeared weakened due to the circumstances. Without delay, she was transported to a nearby hospital for the necessary medical attention by the Clay County Ambulance.
Throughout this critical operation, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office received valuable support from the Xenia Police Department and the Xenia Fire Protection District. Sheriff Andy Myers expressed his gratitude for the efforts of all those involved, particularly the local helicopter company, emphasizing that their timely and selfless service potentially played a life-saving role in this incident