An Exeter, N.H. woman who had been missing since Friday, Dec. 12 was found in Newcastle around 6 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 13.
The Lincoln County Communications Center received a report of a vehicle driving south in the northbound lane of Route 1 around 6 a.m. The vehicle did not have any lights on, but had its hazard lights flashing, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rand Maker.
“A deputy responded to the area, and as he was getting onto Route 1 in Newcastle, a vehicle with hazard lights on drove by him,” Maker said. “The deputy stopped her, and she was identified as Janet Murphy, 76, of Exeter, N.H.”
Murphy had been reported as missing or endangered, according to Maker.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Exeter Police Department and arranged for someone to pick Murphy up.
“We transported Murphy to LincolnHealth – Miles Campus for an evaluation,” Maker said. “The Exeter Police Department reported to the hospital.”
“Murphy was definitely confused and disoriented when we found her,” Maker said.
Officials from Exeter said Murphy was last heard from around 2:30 a.m., Friday, Dec. 12, when she contacted a friend to say she was lost in Waltham, Mass., according to WMUR-TV in New Hampshire. She was heading home from choir practice at the Bellville Church in Newburyport, Mass. at around 10 p.m. and was low on gas.
Her family was concerned because Murphy has memory problems, according to WMUR-TV.
(An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the date the deputy located Murphy.)
