GREAT NECK, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — An elderly woman is safe at home after Nassau County Police in New York searched for hours to find her when she went missing from a grocery store Monday.
Atsuko Horiuchi, 83, on Wednesday sat next to the police officers from Nassau County who, just hours earlier, were in the air and on the ground searching for the elderly woman.
She did not speak, but her son, Yozo Horiuchi, was extremely grateful for the officers’ diligent work.
According to Yozo, the 83-year-old, who has dementia, wandered away while shopping with her husband in Great Neck on Monday and police sprung into action when the family reported her missing.
“They came very quickly and then within – I don't know – 15 minutes, they had patrols out, they had requested the canine [and] they had requested the aviation,” he said.
The 83-year-old was found using night vision from a helicopter, according to authorities.
She was missing for over 24 hours and was discovered a half-a-mile away from the grocery store in a wooded area on Long Island. Authorities say she was resting on a tree and was in a very remote area.
“Where they were, I mean they said that we wouldn't have found her without [night vision],” Yozo said. “They literally saved her life and I'm so grateful and thankful.”
Yozo says seeing his mother again after she was missing since Monday was “incredible.”
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