UPDATE 8/24/12 @ 11:55 a.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- A 97-year-old woman who was found alive three days after going missing has died.

Edna Clay recently died at nursing home in Circleville, Ohio.

Vinton County Sheriff Shawn Justice says her kidneys never recovered from the extreme dehydration she encountered being outside for three days in late July.

Clay was found lying in a dried-up creek and down a large embankment about a mile from her home on Brooks Martin Road. That's in the Albany area.

Clay was then flown to Grant Medical Center in Columbus right after she was found.

The Sheriff's Office says Clay suffered from Dementia.

Dozens of volunteers participated in the search for Clay.

---

UPDATE 7/28/12 @ 8 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- We are learning more about a 97-year-old woman who was found alive days after being reported missing from Vinton County.

Vinton County Sheriff Shawn Justice says volunteers who were searching for Edna Clay found her Saturday in a wooded area about a mile away from her home on Brooks Martin Road. That's in the Albany area.

Justice says she was found lying in an empty creek, down a large embankment.

She was alive and talking, but suffered some injuries from her fall.

Clay was flown to Grant Medical Center in Columbus.

Several crews from across the area were involved in the search for Edna Clay.

---

UPDATE 7/28/12 @ 4:30 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Vinton County Sheriff Shawn Justice says Edna Clay, 97, was found in a dried-up creek in an area they had already searched.

Med Flight is treating Clay now, and she will soon be flown to Grant Hospital in Columbus. More details are expected to be released shortly.

---

UPDATE 7/28/12 @ 3:10 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Vinton County 911 Dispatchers say Edna Clay, 97, has been found alive.

She was located Saturday afternoon. Dispatchers say rescue crews are going to pick up Clay and check on her condition.

No other details have been released. We'll continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

---

UPDATE 7/27/12 @ 6:30 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- For the family of Edna Clay, hope is hard to come by these days.

Her son Robert says it's hard to be optimistic.

"I think I look at the worst part of it because it's been a couple of days," Robert Clay said. "At my mom's age I don't think she could withstand what she'd have to go through."

The 97-year-old walked away from her home along Brooks Martin Road in Vinton County on Wednesday.

Since then, K-9 search crews from all over the state have been combing the woods searching for any sign of her.

Sheriff Shawn Justice says it's an unusual case.

"We've never had a missing person that just seemed like they disappeared," Justice said.

Boats West works with the Ohio Special Rescue Team. He says there's one very important element everyone is focused on.

"Time," West said. "We're now getting into 36 hours plus, so the longer it goes, the more difficult it is to do what we need to do."

The trail leads to a house not far from Edna's, then runs cold.

So far, there's no sign of a crime.

"Everything just disappears from there," Sheriff Justice said. "That's the hardest part. Just not knowing where to start."

No one is giving up.

"However long it takes," West said. "No matter what the conditions. It was hard to get our kids to leave the field yesterday."

"I don't think you could ever get her to do something she didn't want to do," Edna's son Robert said. "And she'd fight till the last."

---

UPDATE 7/27/12 @ 8:30 a.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Search crews are back out looking for a 97-year-old woman who went missing in Vinton County, Ohio Wednesday evening.

Edna Clay was last seen at her home along Brooks Martin Road in McArthur about 6 p.m.

The Sheriff's Office says Clay suffers from dementia. She is 5’2”, 105 pounds. She was wearing a big blue hat and a blue and white top when she disappeared.

On Thursday some 40 45 people-- including deputies, firefighters, EMS and volunteers spent hours looking for Clay.

Sheriff Shawn Justice tells WSAZ.com that from information they have received, there is a possibility that someone picked Clay up. Justice says her family also thinks that’s what happened.

The Sheriff says the search will resume Friday morning using blood hounds and folks from the Ohio Search and Rescue team on horseback.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 740-596-5242.

---

UPDATE 7/26/12 @ 6p.m.

VINTON COUNTY, Oh. (WSAZ) -- The hot weather is creating many challenges for search crews out looking for Edna Clay. The 97-year-old was last seen Wednesday evening around 6:30 wearing a blue wide-brimmed hat.
Clay was walking along Brooks Martin Road in Vinton County near the Athens County line. Crews searched by four-wheeler, on foot and even horseback hoping to find Ms. Clay. A K-9 was also on the scene to track her scent. Ms. Clay's family tells Newschannel Three other than some early signs of dementia, she was very healthy.

“She raised 12 children and is tougher than a pine knot. As far as her vitals, she was very healthy and took no medication. We can't even get her to take a vitamin,” said Bonnie Faulkner, Clay’s daughter.

“The biggest concern right now is trying to see if she went into the woods somehow and maybe slipped and fell and hurt herself. We’ve searched using numerous crews and right now, we just can't find anything,” said Sheriff Shawn Justice, Vinton County.

Ms. Clay's family says she was talking about going back to Williamson, West Virginia where she was raised. They fear she may have hitched a ride with someone.

If you have any idea about her whereabouts, please call the Vinton County Sheriff's Department at 740-596-5242.

---

ORIGINAL STORY 7/26/12 @ 11:23 a.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) -- A search is underway for a missing 97-year-old woman in Vinton County, Ohio.

The Vinton County Sheriff's Office tells WSAZ.com that Edna Clay was last seen at her home along Brooks Martin Road in McArthur about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

They say Clay suffers from dementia. She is 5’2”, 105 pounds. She was wearing a big blue hat and a blue and white top when she disappeared.

An active search for Clay is underway involving some 40 45 people-- including firefighters, EMS and volunteers.

About 1 p.m.Thursday, the Sheriff's Office received a call about a possible sighting near Oak Hill in Jackson, Ohio. Emergency responders are now searching that area as well.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 740-596-5242.