A major search effort in suburban Bærum over the weekend appeared to have ended well on Monday, when civil defense crews found a missing elderly woman behind a busstop at Hosle. On Tuesday, however, the 84-year-old woman died at the hospital where she’d been taken for follow-up care.
The woman had wandered away from the Stabekktunet residential care center on Friday afternoon. She was last seen around 4:30pm, and more than 40 persons from the Red Cross, Norwegian People’s Aid, civil defense and police took part in the effort to find her.
She was found on Monday, lying in some bushes behind the busstop, which was near the area where she’d once lived. Hosle is located a few kilometers from Stabekk, so the woman had walked a long way and spent three nights outdoors, often in pouring rain and likely without food or drink.
A police officer had said her condition seemed “quite good” under the circumstances, but she was taken to Bærum Hospital for follow-up care. She then was said to be suffering from hypothermia, and Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported her death on Tuesday.
“Her family stressed that they are extremely grateful for the efforts made to find her,” said Jørgen Jacobsen of the Asker og Bærum Police District. Bente Nesseth of Bærum Kommune also repeated the family’s gratitude, telling local newspaper Budstikka that “it was very important that she was found.”
Views and News staff
