San Leandro, CA : Woman found safe in Menlo Park after minor car crash on Tuesday morning July 8th 2014

An elderly woman with dementia who was reported missing Sunday night after trying to follow her daughter to a rental car shop was found Tuesday morning after she crashed her car into a pole in Menlo Park, police said.

Esther Velasquez, 84, was located after crashing a gold 2004 Buick Century into a basketball hoop pole in an undisclosed residential neighborhood in Menlo Park, said San Leandro police Lt. Robert McManus. The car did not hit the pole hard, McManus said, but she was taken to a hospital by ambulance for evaluation. She was somewhat disoriented, he said.

"From what I understand, someone saw the collision and called 911," McManus said. "Officers went out there and, lo and behold, there's the missing woman we'd been looking for."

McManus said foul play has been ruled out. She was simply lost.

The wreck happened about 11:30 p.m. Monday, roughly 24 hours after she was driving the Buick and following her daughter to a rental car agency near the Oakland International Airport.

She never made it there and did not return home. The California Highway Patrol issued a Silver Alert, which alerted agencies throughout the state to be on the lookout for her. Detectives checking a license plate reader database learned that an automatic camera took a picture of the car's license plate at a Piedmont intersection around 5 a.m. Monday. Police have not said whether Velasquez was driving the car at the time.

The CHP cancelled the Silver Alert at 1:31 a.m. Tuesday.

Source :
Missing San Leandro woman found safe in Menlo Park after minor car crash