Missing, endangered 92-year-old Orlando woman with Alzheimer’s found safe

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A missing, endangered 92-year-old Orlando woman with Alzheimer’s was found safe Thursday, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Irma Rivera was found around 3:20 p.m. Thursday by deputies, including a K-9, “awake and breathing but disoriented,” the sheriff’s office said in a tweet.

She is currently being taken to the hospital for evaluation, according to deputies.

Deputies previously said Rivera was last seen on Wednesday around 12:41 a.m. after walking from her home off of Wingo Street, near East Colonial Drive and North Semoran Boulevard.

At the time, Rivera was in a white shirt, purple pants and pink sandals, deputies said. They added that Rivera also uses a black-and-red walker with four wheels.

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There was added concern for her well-being because she suffers from Alzheimer’s, the sheriff’s office stated in a release.

“Due to the information we have, we don’t believe in this time she’s made it very far due to her limited mobility,” Lt. Chip Denmark said at a news briefing on Thursday.

He added that his team is searching for her within a 1-2 mile area.

Denmark further encouraged anyone in the community who has a Ring doorbell or any sort of surveillance video to take a look at it between the hours of 12:40 a.m. Wednesday and now and to check any area on their property, as Rivera could have gotten disoriented and hid searching for shade.

News 6 spoke to Rivera’s great-granddaughter. She said Rivera left home in the middle of the night, when her 24/7 caregiver wasn’t expecting her to be up and walking around.

She said a person saw Rivera near a Wawa in that area and caught it on their cell phone. The family has been searching all night and law enforcement is searching with them.

At the news briefing, Rivera’s granddaughter, Neyda Pagan, said her grandmother has disappeared multiple times before, but they usually find her quickly, with the help of neighbors, near the trails in Baldwin Park.

“We searched last night. We started searching earlier this morning. We have put out flyers. We searched more than a mile away from the area in all different directions,” Pagan said. “We stopped people jogging, we stopped people that were walking their dogs, on their bikes. And unfortunately, there has been no signs of her.”

Ana Taylor, Rivera’s daughter, begged neighbors not to turn her away if she shows up on anyone’s doorstep.

“My mom is very caring,” she said.

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