Olga Gutierrez, woman missing from Markham since Sunday, found safe
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An elderly woman who had been missing from Markham since Sunday night has been found, and is being treated at a nearby hospital.
Olga A. Gutierrez, 84, who has dementia, was reported missing earlier this week, after she was last seen around 9 p.m. Sunday in the 3600 block of Arthur Terrace, according to Markham Police.
Gutierrez was found around 5 a.m. Thursday morning lying on a mattress in the basement of an abandoned house near her home, according to Markham police.
A Markham police sergeant found Gutierrez Thursday morning in the basement of an abandoned building just three blocks away from her home. It's unclear how long she was there.
"We just don't know how she got there. And you know everybody knows when you see someone elderly walking down the street, normally people call the police," said Markham Police Chief Jack Genius.
"Something's wrong. Everybody's got family members with some type of disability or age impairment – so, we didn't get any of that."
After three days, she is still in good condition. She was taken to UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in neighboring Harvey where she will stay overnight for treatment.
Her family got the call to come to the hospital Thursday morning to identify her. She was awake and interacting with family.
Police and fire crews, and Gutierrez's family, had launched a massive search effort to find her earlier this week. The fire department was using infrared technology to try to find her. Police dogs and a drone also were used in the search.
The day before she went missing, she was dropped off by her daughter at the house where she stays with one of her seven children. The next day, when the son she lives with went to go check on her and give her a meal, no one answered her room door.
Her family said Thursday morning they believe she simply wandered off. Her son said that hearing that she was found was like getting a ticket into heaven.
State police will continue to look for forensic evidence to put the pieces together.
