By Kayla Tucker
mlive.com
MASON COUNTY, Mich. — A missing woman was found safe Sunday after surviving in the woods for days.
The 74-year-old woman sought shelter from the rain Thursday, April 3 , under a tree after getting lost. Her vehicle became disabled and caught fire.
She was found three days later.
Mason County first responders used a drone to locate the woman who was 150 yards away from her vehicle in a heavily wooded area.
The Norton Shores woman got lost when she was driving home from the Little River Casino in Manistee .
The Norton Shores Police Department reported Nancy Bloomquist missing on Sunday afternoon, a little more than an hour before her GMC Terrain SUV was found.
Police said Bloomquist became lost and ended up on a long driveway of a seasonal home, according to a news release from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
While attempting to get turned around, the vehicle became disabled and caught fire.
Bloomquist fled the vehicle and sought shelter under a tree during the rain Thursday night.
She became cold to the point that she could not get back to her feet Friday, police stated. She remained lying on the ground until she was found Sunday evening.
Mason County deputies were called at 1:57 p.m. Sunday on the report of a burned vehicle south of Countyline Road and west of Morton Road in Mason County’s Grant Township .
Responding officers were told the vehicle matched that of a reported missing person out of the Norton Shores Police Department .
A search was immediately started around the vehicle and surrounding area.
Five hours later, at 7:08 p.m. , Bloomquist was located by a drone roughly 150 yards from her vehicle in a heavily wooded area, lying next to a downed tree.
She was talking with deputies at the scene, who confirmed she was the missing person from Norton Shores .
The search included members of the Grant Township Fire and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office DRONE unit. Norton Shores Police Department , the Little River Tribal Police and the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the scene.
Police said they learned through interviews, surveillance video, and a trail camera near a seasonal home that Bloomquist left the casino on Thursday, presumably, to return to Norton Shores .
She got lost and crashed her vehicle while trying to turn around in a driveway.
While fleeing her burning vehicle, the woman left her cell phone behind.
When she attempted to return to the car, she became lost. A trail cam captured the vehicle driving in and Bloomquist walking out.
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