The family of a missing 76-year-old Rock Springs woman with dementia are relieved after she was located safely in Colorado on Monday night after going missing for nearly three days.
Martha James was located in Fort Collins at about 7:45 p.m. in the parking lot of a retail store.
She’s safe but very disoriented, said James’ sister-in-law, Suzanne James, who told Cowboy State Daily that James thought she was in California.
James was taken to UCHealth Pouder Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, where she’s resting and being treated for low potassium.
“We are so relieved to have found her safe,” Suzanne said.
James had been missing since late afternoon Saturday when she left home in her vehicle. She’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and her family were worried she had become lost and not able to find her way home.
She was traveling with her two dogs, a tan Chihuahua named Sergeant and white miniature poodle named Baby Doll, who are safe and being kept in crates at the hospital where her brother Jim is waiting for her to be released to bring them all back to Wyoming.
Suzanne and Jim said they’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support throughout their ordeal.
“I also am so overwhelmed with all the concerns from people we didn't even know and friends wanting to help with advice and getting the word out about her,” Suzanne said. “We’re so grateful for the love in our small community of Rock Springs.”
The Rock Springs Police Department issued an update on its Facebook page stating that James had been located at 8:15 p.m. Monday.
Follow The Money
Suzanne and Jim had been closely tracking James’ route through her credit card purchases at gas stations throughout Wyoming and Colorado between Saturday and Monday morning.
The last one had located James in Colorado Springs around 3 a.m. Monday, Suzanne said, at which point the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a Senior Alert for James.
Then around 3:30 Monday afternoon, Suzanne noted that James had just made a purchase for more gas at a station in Estes Park. Suzanne then called the gas station and spoke to the clerk to ask if he remembered seeing a woman of James’ description.
He had, but wasn’t aware that a Senior Alert had been issued, she said.
“She spoke to him [the clerk] about how much money she had lost on Power Ball and lottery tickets and then mumbled something to herself he could not understand,” Suzanne said.
James then used the bathroom and left, and the clerk did not see anyone else with her.
Suzanne said she immediately called the detective with the Rock Springs Police Department, who was off duty and instructed Suzanne to call the detective’s line. There was no answer, so she left a message.
Jim later called that same number and got through to a detective, who instructed them to call the Estes Park Police Department to report the sighting.
Within 30 minutes of making the call, James’ vehicle was located by a Ft. Collins police officer in a Target parking lot.
“She found her to be very disoriented,” Suzanne said of the condition of her sister-in-law when the police contacted.
That’s when they transported her to the hospital.
Once James arrives home, Suzanne said they will make changes to keep her safe, including moving James in with she and Jim and not allowing her to drive anymore.
Suzanne said she hopes this experience will help others understand how dangerous Alzheimer’s and dementia can be as it progresses.
“We struggled with taking away her independence to drive herself places as we listened to her reasoning,” she said. “It is not worth going through the scare we went through. Just take the keys if you notice those changes.”
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
