Pattaya Tourist Police find missing elderly American woman

Pattaya Tourist Police yesterday found an elderly American woman who went missing from her home in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri province. The woman’s family had reported her missing the night before after she had gone on a walk.

As the police were searching for the woman, Shirley, she came into the Bang Lamung police station to ask for help. Shirley reportedly told the police she was lost and looked confused. When the police saw that the woman’s identity matched that of the person they were looking for, they realised that they had found Shirley. The police brought her home safely and uninjured, although she was exhausted.

In a photo from Pattaya Tourist Police, Shirley can be seen hugging an officer who helped her home. Her family was also grateful to the police for bringing her home. Shirley is in her mid-seventies, and it was reportedly unclear if she had memory loss issues. It’s also unclear where she wandered during the night.

This year, a few elderly foreigners in Thailand with memory issues have gone missing after getting lost. In one major incident in May, a 75 year old German woman went missing in Phuket for 7 days. Like Shirley, the woman went missing after she went for a walk. Rescuers then found the woman, Barbara, during a helicopter sweep.

A 70 year old French man went missing in a Chiang Mai forest in February. The man, Jacques Moriceau, was found the next morning in an abandoned temple in a forest. The man said he was driving to the French Embassy in Chiang Mai when he forgot the way home. His car batteries ran out of power and he started walking to seek help but walked into a forest where he got lost.