NSP Air Wing locates missing woman

LINCOLN -- A Seward County woman is safe after spending two hours wandering in a southeast Nebraska field.

At approximately 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, the Seward County Sheriff's Office received a call from 25- year-old Miranda Rae alerting them to a situation in which her 48-year-old mentally disabled aunt, had walked away from her home at 206 Pine Street, in Pleasant Dale, Seward County, Nebraska. Rae indicated her aunt had left her home and walked up the hill into a wooded pasture near 154th & Van Dorn Streets and could not be located.

A Seward County Deputy responded to the scene and requested assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP). A perimeter was set up around the area. A ground search by officers at the scene as well as a Seward County canine was unsuccessful in locating the lost woman.

The NSP Air Wing Helicopter was called to assist in the search. At approximately 8:00 p.m. the NSP pilot utilizing the helicopter's Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) located the woman lying on the ground in the field just north of a set of railroad tracks.

The woman who was not injured was taken into protective custody.

Agencies assisting in the search and rescue include the Nebraska State Patrol, Seward and Lancaster County Sheriff's Offices, Milford Police Department and the Pleasant Dale Volunteer Fire Department.