MASON COUNTY, Mich. — Mason County deputies found a Norton Shores woman on Sunday who had been missing.
“We were not really expecting a positive outcome. But thankfully our drone found her,” Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said.
She was found about 150 yards from her vehicle in a wooded area in Mason County’s Grant Township Sunday night after 7 p.m.
She and her burned vehicle were found south of Countyline Road and west of Morton Road, according to the Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.
“It’s a remote desolate area. There’s not a lot of traffic up there,” Cole said.
Deputies were initially notified of the burned vehicle on Sunday afternoon. They used a drone to survey the area and found the missing person lying next to a downed tree. She spent days outside in the elements.
“The weather wasn’t the greatest up here. Thursday night it rained, and Saturday morning it was 27 degrees here in Ludington," Cole said.
The missing person had left the Little River Casino on Thursday. She became lost on her way back to Norton Shores and ended up on a driveway to a season home. The sheriff’s office says she attempted to turn her vehicle around and while in the process of that, the vehicle caught fire.
“They found the vehicle burned. It was a fluke, it was a seasonal home up there. The homeowner happened to come up Sunday, for whatever reason. And found the car. That’s what prompted the phone call,” Cole said.
The woman left the vehicle and forgot her cell phone, the sheriff’s news release said. When she tried to return to her car, she got lost.
A trail camera recorded the vehicle driving and later showed the missing woman walking.
The Sheriff’s Office release says she laid down next to a downed tree in an attempt to avoid Thursday night’s rain the area. She became cold and could not get back on her feet Friday and laid on the ground until Sunday evening.
“She’s tough. I’ll give her that. She’s tough. We’re just thankful she’s okay,” Cole said.
Several agencies helped Mason County deputies search for the missing person, including Norton Shores Police, Manistee County Sheriff’s Office, Little River Tribal Police and the Grant Township Fire Department.
