Woman missing during storm found safe; sheltered in camper

Several local agencies spent Memorial Day searching Minneota for a 50-year-old woman who went missing Sunday night after walking away from relatives following a disagreement.
The woman, a non-resident, was found around 2:30 p.m. on Monday on the edge of town where she sought shelter from the thunderstorm in a camper.
"It became a potential life-threatening situation because she recently had knee surgery and had limited mobility, she wasn't responding to calls, and there was a dangerous storm," said Minneota Police Chief Bill Bolt. "So, because of those factors, I filed a missing person report."
The woman was driven to Minneota by her daughter, a Marshall resident, to visit friends and relatives. After getting into a disagreement with an individual, she left the house she was visiting. Relatives found her walking a couple of blocks away and brought her back to the home.
Approximately an hour after that incident, the woman again left the home on foot around 11:40 p.m. Sunday.
Several hours passed before a 911 call was made. Chief Bolt received word of the woman missing around 7 a.m. Monday.
The Lyon County Sheriff's Department responded with its thermal-imaging drone, as well as the Department of Natural Resources canine unit, the Minneota Fire Department, First Responders and Minneota Police Department.
A property-by-property ground search was conducted by the various groups.
"They were looking under bushes, vehicles, in sheds or anywhere she might have sought shelter from the storm," said Chief Bolt. "We tried to ping the location of her phone but it was dead or she had turned it off. We didn't know if she might have fallen and huddled under a tree somewhere, or any number of things. We had to cover all our bases."
The woman apparently walked outside of town despite her recent knee surgery and found shelter in the camper. Several hours later, she walked up to the home and knocked on the door, seeking assistance.
"I'm thankful things worked out well," said Chief Bolt. "My advice to people is when you go out, make sure your phone is always charged so your loved ones don't have to worry and can find you in case something happens.
"All of the people involved in the search spent around eight hours away from their families on a holiday. It just goes to show that rural Minnesota will self-sacrifice to help others in need."