How grandmother missing for 10 days survived
A 62-year-old woman with dementia who disappeared for 10 days survived in part off a diet of creek water and minnow fish, police believe.
On September 17, Linda Field, from the US state of Texas, disappeared from the home she shares with her daughter Laura Bereta after stealing her car before it was time to pick up her grandson from school.
“She wanted to go for a little joyride,” Ms Bereta told Yahoo.
While warming up the car, Ms Bereta dashed inside the house, leaving Ms Field sitting on the front porch.
“Mum didn’t want to come to school and she is allowed to stay home alone for short periods of time,” Ms Bereta said.
However, while her daughter was in the house, Ms Field snuck into the red 1999 Ford Explorer and drove off.
Ms Bereta called her mother’s boyfriend and her aunt before contacting police.
While a friend picked up her son, Ms Bereta waited at home as police searched the neighbourhood. She later filed a missing person’s report when she could not be found.
Ms Field was diagnosed with dementia in June and Ms Bereta quit her job to care for her mum full-time.
“I was freaking out,” Ms Bereta said.
“There was no telling where she could have gone — a few days earlier, she talked about visiting Montana, which I didn’t take seriously.”
Comforted by the fact that her car had less than a tank of petrol and her mother had no money, Ms Bereta didn’t believe her mother could travel far.
During the first few nights of her mother’s disappearance, Ms Bereta couldn’t sleep, checking social media feeds for updates and watching her driveway.
The nights she could manage sleep, she tossed and turned.
“It drove me nuts,” she said.
“I finally put my phone down because I was so stressed out.”
Ms Field could have visited the spot where her ex-husband’s ashes were sprinkled, but Ms Bereta couldn’t recall the location.
And a friend swore she spotted the woman at a local shop. Hopeful, Ms Bereta organised a search party near the store, but she would soon call it off.
On September 27, the police announced that Ms Field had been found about an hour from where she went missing.
Police said in a statement the grandmother was found 10 days after she went missing when the car was found in a wooded area.
“Linda was found alive in a creek bed approximately [180 to 280 metres] from the nearest residence,” police said.
She was taken to the nearest hospital where she was treated for dehydration and fatigue.
Ms Field told ABC 13, “I knew I was going to be found. It was God’s time”.
Ms Bereta’s car was found with a broken bumper and side mirror, and Ms Field was scratched up with bug bites, but otherwise healthy.
However, details of her disappearance are scarce.
“She has medical issues, and was severely dehydrated and weak when we found her,” police told Yahoo.
“We are just thankful that we found her, she is safe, and has been reunited with family.”
When asked about Ms Field’s survival tactics, a police officer said: “I believe she told deputies she ate minnows and drank creek water.”
Since she was found, Ms Field has been nervous to go outside and worried about being alone.
Ms Bereta says she will stick by her mother’s side, but the extent of her mother’s disappearance will remain a mystery.
“I don’t think we’ll ever know the whole truth,” she said.
– Yahoo! US
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