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WINDSOR – An elderly Bertie County woman was found safe early Friday evening near Hope Plantation just off NC Hwy 308 west of Windsor after she had earlier wandered away from her home.

According to Bertie County Emergency Services Director Mitch Cooper, Nancy Davis, described as being in her mid-70’s, somehow became disoriented after leaving her Governor’s Road residence on foot sometime around 3 p.m. on Jan. 31.

After being reported missing shortly thereafter, authorities were alerted and a search commenced in the immediate area.

Assisting in the search was Bertie County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Bertie County Sheriff’s Office, the Windsor Fire Department, North Carolina Forestry Service, and the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

“We set up a command post within 15 minutes of our arrival,” Cooper said.

A description was given of the woman’s clothing of a red sweater and blue jeans, and her physical stature: five foot-six inches in height and weighing between 115-120 pounds.

Armed with that information, searchers spread out in several directions in the immediate Governor’s Road area.

Cooper says sometime around 7:15 p.m. a Windsor firefighter heard a distressed voice through the woods in the dark between Governor’s Road and Hendrix Lane. The fireman says he followed the sound and Davis was located in a culvert/ ditch near a crossover northwest of Historic Hope House Plantation less than 10 minutes later. All told, she had only wandered about a mile from her residence.

Cooper said she was alert, aware of people around her, but damp and extremely cold. Because of the wet, muddy and slippery sides of the ditch, she had been unable to climb out of the culvert.

Davis was immediately transported by EMS to Vidant Bertie Hospital in Windsor where she was treated for hypothermia and other related ailments. She was later released sometime late Friday night and returned safely home.

Cooper thanked the various first-responder agencies that sprang into action and aided in the search and rescue.

“We all worked together using multiple resources,” Cooper added. “This ended up being a very good night for Bertie County.”