By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
San Benito police helped solve a missing person case stemming from the disappearance of an elderly woman in Jim Wells County.
The woman was founded stranded roadside near 509 and Business 77 in San Benito in the early morning hours of Monday, November 5, when the San Benito Police Department responded to a call.
When officers arrived on the scene, around 12:42 a.m., they made contact with several employees from Wackenhut, a nearby private security company that transports illegal aliens for the US Department of Homeland Security. These individuals told SBPD officers that they noticed a baby blue Ford Taurus parked roadside, and went to investigate.
After said individuals pulled over to assist the driver, they discovered the woman, identified as 79-year-old Dorothy Powell of Premont, TX , was unaware of her present geographic location or final destination.
Powell had apparently traveled over 500 miles before running out of gas, said SBPD Internal Affairs Detective Rogelio Banda, Jr. “Wackenhut officers happened to see [Powell] and decided to help her when they realized she was disoriented and lost. They pushed her vehicle to a nearby Stripes store, and they called the police department to make us aware,” said Banda.
When the responding SBPD officer arrived at the scene, he ran Powell’s license plates. “Sure enough,” said Banda, “he got a hit that she was a missing person. A report had been issued by Jim Wells Sheriff’s Office. Apparently it had been entered the day before.”
Powell had last been seen around 4 p.m. the day before, and Banda said “no one seemed to know where she was going, so there was an issuance for law enforcers to keep an eye out on that vehicle.”
Once Powell had been identified as a missing person, officers escorted her to the police station and notified members of the woman’s family.
Banda said, “Three hours later, Powell’s daughter Deanne Shaw, who’s 56, showed up to pick up her mother at the police station. The officers said it was an emotional reunion. She drove in the middle of the night to come to her mother’s side.”
It was later brought to officers’ attention that Powell suffers from cognitive impairment. A relieved Banda expressed gratitude to the individuals from Wackenhut for alerting the department of Powell’s whereabouts. Banda said, “Luckily these guys did the right thing by pulling over and assisting this elderly female. She appeared disoriented and didn’t know where she was or was going. Someone could’ve taken advantage of that situation. These individuals acted appropriately and notified the authorities.”
Read this story in the Nov. 11 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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