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Updated: 4:00 PM Nov 29, 2009
Missing Woman Found Dead
The Director of Emergency Management in Lawrence County, Kentucky says the body of a missing elderly woman was found Saturday morning.
Posted: 3:12 PM Nov 28, 2009Reporter: John Griffith; Randy Yohe; Amanda Goodman; Amanda Barren Email Address: john.griffith@wsaz.com; randy.yohe@wsaz.com; amanda.goodman@wsaz.com |
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88 Comments 
UPDATE: Saturday, November 28@3:01pm
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- The Director of Emergency Management in Lawrence County Kentucky says the body of a missing elderly woman was found Saturday morning.
Harold Slone says that the body of Florence Tkach was found in the Big Sandy River around 11:40 a.m.
Tkach was found about a quarter of a mile up the river from where the search command center was located on McClure Branch Road, near Louisa.
Tkach was 79 years old and an Alzheimer's patient. She was with her son visiting extended family for the holidays.
Her body was sent to the coroner's officer for an autopsy.
Florence's family says, "We greatly appreciate everything that everyone has done in giving up their Thanksgiving to help us, it was unreal the people that pulled together to do this and we thank everyone that had a hand in it."
Tkach wandered away from the home Wednesday. Crews have been searching for four days with helicopters, boats and even search dogs.
More than 100 volunteers spent their holiday searching for the woman.
UPDATE @ 9:45pm
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Rescue workers tell us they halted their search for Florence Tkach around 9:30 p.m. Friday and plan to resume about 9 a.m. Saturday.
UPDATE from 6pm Friday
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Alan Tkach says he's deeply grateful to everyone who has helped search for his mother.
Florence Tkach, 79, who has a history of spontaneous Alzheimer's-related runaways, has been missing for nearly three days.
On Wednesday, while Florence was visiting the home of her caregiver's family for the Thanksgiving holiday, she wandered away again.
On day three of the search Friday, a specialized team of search and recovery canines and handlers targeted the banks and the bottom of the Big Sandy River's Levisa Fork. The were following a scent picked up not far from where Florence was last spotted.
At the command center, rescue teams were bringing in high-tech sonar to search the river bottom, and underwater cameras also are in the plan. Meanwhile, teams of divers are at the ready if and when this becomes a recovery effort.
More than 100 searchers from three counties have assisted in the mission to find Florence.
"As rescuers, our mission is the same -- to find this woman, whether it's a rescue or recovery," said Harold Slone, an emergency management director.
While Alan said his mother is "pretty feisty" and a "strong country girl," he said he realizes she's susceptible to the cold.
Search team leaders said they will resume their search Saturday morning.
UPDATE @ 9:30 a.m. Friday
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky (WSAZ) - Braving rain and cold, searchers are out this morning looking for a woman who has been missing since Wednesday. Searchers say Florence Tkach wandered away from a home on McClure branch road near Louisa, Kentucky. She's 79 years old, from Aberdeen, Ohio and has Alzheimer's. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white, short sleeved shirt and one shoe, which was found Thursday.
About a hundred rescuers, including some from Boyd County, spent Thanksgiving combing the rough terrain for any signs of the missing woman, but so far, just the one clue.
UPDATE @ 7:00 p.m. Thursday
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky (WSAZ) - The search for a missing Ohio woman has been called off for the evening, but not for good.
Emergency crews were out all day Thursday looking for 79-year-old Florence Tkach.
However, at 7:00 p.m., they decided that it was too dark to keep searching.
Crews will resume their efforts at 9:00 a.m. Friday.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
UPDATE @ 4:00 p.m. Thursday
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky (WSAZ) - Emergency crews in Lawrence County, Kentucky are searching for Florence Tkach. She is 79 years old.
Tkach is from Aberdeen, Ohio, and has Alzheimer's Disease. Tkach went missing Wednesday night around 8 p.m. near Louisa, Kentucky. Her caregiver was visiting her own family and took Tkach along with her.
Close to 100 workers and volunteers are searching by land, air and water for the woman. The National Guard has even been called in, and crews are using helicopters, boats and specialized dog teams to search for Tkach in the Louisa area.
She was last seen wearing a t-shirt, jeans and one shoe.
Dogs recovered the other shoe Thursday morning, but there is still no sign of Tkach.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky (WSAZ) - The Director of Emergency Services in Lawrence County, Kentucky says crews are searching for a missing woman.
The woman is 79-years-old, and is from Aberdeen, Ohio. She was visiting relatives Wednesday near Louisa when she walked away. The director says she has Alzheimer's Disease.
The woman was last seen wearing blue jeans, a short-sleeved white blouse, and one shoe.
Emergency Services has called in a helicopter from the National Guard to assist in the search.
Keep clicking on WSAZ for more details.
Latest Comments
tO THE FAMILY I AM TRULY SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. AS FOR OTHER THE SEARCH WASNT CALLED OFF THERE WAS A K-9 UNIT THERE AT DARK IN THE WOODS SEARCHING AND THE INDICATION WAS THAT SHE WENT IN THE RIVER. NO ONE WANTED TO THINK THE WORST AND YOUR FINE VOLUNTEERS KEPT SEACHING IN THE DARK WITH THE K9 UNITHOPING AND PRAYING FOR A BETTER OUTCOME. pLEASE GIVE THIS FAMILY PEACE AND REMEBER THAT GOD FORBID YOU MAY BE IN A BAD SITUATION AND THESE VOLUNTEERS WILL BE THE ONES YOU WANT TO COME. GOD BLESS THEM
Mrs. Tkach had on my family. We loved her, cared for her and gave her what she needed most, people to love her. No one from Pennsylvania wanted to care for her. She and her husband had been left alone in disgraceful conditions for years. First her husband was taken to the hospital; she was forced into the hospital two days later for observation by her daughter and her son. Seven days later, when she needed a place to go, no one cared that she was sitting out in the hall of a hospital, discharged for three days with the weekend coming up. I cared then and I care now. Where was the lady who knows so much about this family? Not one single person over these several months ever called up and said, "I'll care for Mrs. Tkach." Not one person ever called and said, "I care so much about Mrs. Tkach that I would love to see her." My family was all she had. But, don't underestimate us. She had the best 14 months that she had had in probably 30 years. She had children and grandchildren.
Over the past two weeks, as Mrs. Tkach's caregiver, I haven't had time to read your comments. I just returned home last night from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Tkach was discharged from the hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for three days and no one would come get her. Her daughter's efforts to have her placed in a nursing home failed. On Friday, shortly after 3:00 p.m., after Mrs. Tkach had borrowed someone's cell phone and called me, I called her daughter and asked if I could bring her to Ohio. Sure, that was fine. By 4:00 p.m. I had stopped by the closed nursing home I could find and had an ambulance on its way to get Mrs. Tkach. At 4:30 a.m. both Mrs. Tkach and I arrived at the nursing home. That old lady was so glad to see me that she grabbed me and held onto me so tight. The nurses had to pull her from my side. She was scared and had been alone for a week without anyone that she knew coming to visit. No, not Kathy, the troublemaking, gossip, neighbor. No one came.
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