Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Identity of elderly woman stays a mystery
Police say they are no longer trying to find out the identity of an elderly woman found in a frail condition on the side of a road in southeast Queensland.
October 4, 2020
The hunt to find out the identity of a frail, elderly woman found by the side of the road on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has ended.
The woman, believed to be in her 80s, was picked up by a driver in Mooloolah Valley on September 6 and dropped outside Nambour Hospital.
Her identity remained a mystery for weeks, with police initially unable to ask the woman who she was because she was suffering a “challenging health situation”.
Police said on Sunday the woman recently began talking and declined to disclose her identity for personal reasons.
“As no criminality has been detected, police have ceased involvement in this matter and the woman will be left in the care of Queensland Health,” a police spokeswoman said.
Investigators issued a number of alerts in a bid to reunite the woman with her family after she was found, saying the situation was unique and almost like a reverse missing person’s case.
She started talking with people after she was transferred to Sunshine Coast University Hospital and her health improved.