Missing Madras woman found in ‘ghost town’ of Shaniko

(Update: Woman found in Shaniko, reunited with husband)

Had gone on first drive in 2 years, didn't return home; 72-year-old memory, health issues

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – The search for a 72-year-old Madras woman with memory and health issues who failed to return home from a drive to visit a friend – her first drive in two years – ended happily Friday when she was found in the small "ghost town" of Shaniko, nearly 40 miles away, where residents came to her aid, police said.

Madras police and other agencies had been searching and seeking the public’s help in finding Mary “Vonnie” Vonette McIntire, who left her home in an SUV Thursday evening, but did not return.

McIntire was last seen around 7 p.m. Thursday at the wheel of a red 2005 Jeep Cherokee. Police Chief Tanner Stanfill said police took the missing person report around 9:40 p.m. and that an “attempt to locate” bulletin was sent to police agencies around the region.

Her husband of 42 years, Leonard McIntire, told NewsChannel 21 his wife just had a knee operation and was undergoing tests for the early stages of Parkinson’s. He said she had been losing a lot of weight and did not take her purse or any ID when she left their home on Northeast Begonia Street, near St. Charles Madras, heading to visit a friend in the 200 block of Ninth Street.

Stanfill said her husband reported they previously lived in Redmond and that she likes to drive the back roads to Lake Simtustus. Redmond police checked their previous address there and did not find her or the SUV

Around 1 p.m. Friday, a resident of Shaniko, a “ghost town” of a few dozen residents, saw a woman who appeared disoriented walking through town, Stanfill said.

That resident notified the postmaster, who in turn told the Shaniko Fire Department, whose employees were able to find the woman, the police chief said. They were able to identify her as McIntire based on news reports, he added.

After confirming the woman’s identity, they contacted Frontier Regional Dispatch. Madras police told McIntire’s husband, who caught a ride with a friend to Shaniko to reunite with his wife and drive her back to Madras.

“Ms. McIntire was said to be a bit embarrassed but was in good health,” Stanfill wrote in an update. “The Madras Police Department would like to thank everyone involved for their assistance.”

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