A woman was found deep inside an orchard in Santa Barbara County after she was reported missing Sunday morning.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, responded to the 5400 block of Toltec in Santa Barbara around 11 a.m. Sunday.
Deputies learned that a 71-year-old woman went on a walk several hours earlier and had not returned home.
The woman did not have a cell phone and spoke limited English and was not familiar with the area, according to officials.
Deputies searched the area and walked routes they thought she could have taken, but were unable to locate her before it got dark.
Press Release: Missing Woman Found in Orchard https://t.co/q4h8c3lfF4 pic.twitter.com/JApOhvZy0p
— SB Sheriff's Office (@sbsheriff) April 21, 2020
Authorities resumed the search Monday morning with County Air Support, looking near the 1400 block of Camino Molinero where one witness reported seeing the missing woman.
Air Support spotted the woman and directed deputies on the ground.
Deputies then drove-off road and hiked to get to the woman who was awake, but in need of medical attention.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department assisted with the response and transported the woman by off-road vehicle to an ambulance to be transferred to a hospital.
In a press release, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office said, "The success of finding this missing person is thanks, in great part, to a vigilant community member who reported seeing the missing person in the area to law enforcement. "
