PERRY, Ga. — Wednesday morning, the search for a missing person in Perry had a happy ending.
A 76-year-old woman was reported missing Tuesday evening. Perry Police Captain Heath Dykes says Gloria Giles was last seen Sunday, and her family had last heard from her Monday.
Tuesday night around 7:30 p.m., police and several other agencies started looking for her. With no luck, they stopped their search at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. However, they got back to it at 9 a.m.
Megan Western was out in Perry to see the moments after she was found.
In the Wind River subdivision, Gloria Giles is known for walking.
"After she had the stroke, she walked for that purpose, to help build up her legs. Before that, she walked further around the neighborhood," says Cincy Avery.
Avery says sometimes her husband even walked with Giles. She says many people look after her, helping her to get groceries and cut her grass. When they heard she was missing, they grew worried.
"I was worried that she had fallen or got into a car with someone she didn't know trying to get a ride to the store or something, and foul play had come about," Avery adds.
Police says she was last seen on Sunday as she was walking.
Wednesday morning, the search started on Highway 127 between the Woodlands and Wind River subdivisions.
"The phone was pinging here, and up until about 9-ish last night, the phone finally died, but we were in this area because the phone was in this area," says Perry Police Captain Heath Dykes.
After two hours, they decided to look elsewhere.
"We regrouped and made a decision to come into the neighborhood where she lived to see if maybe her phone had died and she tried to get back into the neighborhood," says Dykes.
Houston County Fire began to search backyards, and just before noon, she was found about two doors away from her own.
"He was in the back of her residence on the other side of the fence, in a ditch, a drainage ditch. It's about a four-, five-foot drop-off, she had fallen down in there," says Dykes.
It is unknown how long she was in the ditch. Giles was taken to Houston Healthcare for care. Neighbors say they're just happy she is OK.
"I'm so glad she's still alive. I'm glad that her daughter and granddaughter get to hold her now and us neighbors get to see her walking," says Avery.
Dykes says the only visible injuries were a few scrapes and bruises. He says Giles seemed dehydrated.