Officials with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Department report a Mt. Ayr woman missing since late Friday afternoon was found Saturday by a search party.  74-year old Shirley Martin, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, was located at approximately  2:00-p.m., northwest of her residence. Chief Deputy Sheriff Rob Haley says Martin was found about three-quarters of a mile from her home in a shallow hole on the edge of a corn field, surrounded by brush and timber.  She was conscious and was transported to Ringgold County Hospital and then air lifted to Des Moines, where she was later reported to be in good condition.

Martin was reported missing after she left her home at 1984 270th Avenue sometime between the hours of 12:30-p.m. and 4:30-p.m. Friday. Deputy Haley says the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the nearly 600 people and law enforcement officers who participated in the search effort. The volunteers had began to gather at around 7-a.m. Saturday at a church north of Mt. Ayr, to coordinate their search efforts.