Bloodhound Locates Missing Woodbury Woman

1:30 p.m. May 2 Update

On May 1, State Police K9 Texas, a bloodhound, located a missing 89-year-old Woodbury woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s. She was reported missing at approximately 5:40 p.m. and located three-and-a-half hours later.

Police said she was last seen on Good Hill Road.

"Upon arrival, troopers and officers from the Woodbury Resident Trooper’s Office searched the residence and immediate area, but were unable to locate her," state police said. "A State Police K9 team (German shepherd) also responded and assisted with the search."

The state police helicopter, Trooper One, was requested, but was unable to fly due to the inclement weather. Members of the Woodbury Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the scene and assisted in the search.

Fire department members planned to deploy a boat to check a pond located in the immediate area. Woodbury residents were notified of the missing woman via the town's reverse 911 system.

At approximately 7:50 p.m. a state police bloodhound responded to the scene to further assist with the search. Trooper First Class Kerry Halligan and her K9 partner Texas, a nearly 2-year-old Bloodhound, initiated a search for the woman.

"After approximately 40 minutes of searching, K9 Texas located the missing woman approximately ¼ mile from her residence, in thick brush," Trooper First Class Kelly Grant said in a written statement. "The missing woman was disoriented and appeared to be suffering from hypothermia. The missing woman was transported to Saint Mary’s Hospital for evaluation by the Woodbury Volunteer Ambulance."

State Police Bloodhounds are used to pick up where patrol dogs leave off, Grant said.

"They can follow older tracks with a higher percentage of success and are able to start a trail in a contaminated area due to their superior olfactory system and inherent tracking ability," she added. "Labrador retrievers are another breed used by State Police as narcotic detection dogs, and are trained to discern odors such as illegal drugs. The breed is also trained in accelerant detection to identify the presence of all types of flammable and combustible substances."

Those canines are assigned to troopers in the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and Bradley International Airport.

"Labradors are trained as explosive detection dogs as well," Kelly said. "The imprintation of odors takes four intense weeks of training exclusively by trainers prior to their partners joining the training for another eight weeks."

Labradors have also been trained in Electronic Storage Detection, helping investigators locate items associated with computers and cell phones.

May 1 article:

A 90-year-old woman reported missing from Woodbury has been found, according to a CodeRED message from Woodbury's emergency director Sunday evening, May 1.

Margaret Numenmacher, a 90-year-old white female weighing approximately 100 lbs., was last seen at 84 Good Hill Rd. at approximately 6:40 p.m. Sunday.

A 9:15 p.m. update from CodeRED stated:

"Thankfully, she has been found. Thank you for your help."

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