Lost woman gets chopper ride to safety

An elderly woman spent several hours lost on a walk Thursday night and into Friday morning, but she was brought safely home by an Alaska State Trooper helicopter in an unusual rescue.

At 1 a.m. Friday morning, troopers were alerted that Amy A. Ross, 85, of Wasilla had walked away from her home near Fairview Loop and Lupine Road. Ross was discovered missing at about 8 p.m. and family members searched the area for four hours before calling troopers.

Troopers immediately requested assistance from Helo 1 with a Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) system. Pilot Mel Nading picked up trooper Todd Womack and went on an aerial search.

At 4:40 a.m., the helicopter crew spotted Ross near a piece of construction equipment about 4 miles from her home.

Womack helped her into the helicopter, and she was flown home. Ross told troopers she had gotten lost during her walk and was very tired. She said she was more than ready to go home and get away from the mosquitoes.

Ross didn't require any immediate medical attention and was returned home to her family.

Capt. Dennis Casanovas, commander of the trooper's B Detachment, said he was proud of the work his men did that morning. "Quick thinking on their part made a big difference in finding Ms. Ross as soon as we did. These happy-ending stories make all the time and effort you put into the job worthwhile," he said.

The call to use the helicopter to search for Ross was made by trooper Womack, and night supervisors approved the search, Casanovas said.

Troopers would like to encourage citizens to notify them as soon as possible when someone is missing, especially children and older family members.

"Each situation is different," trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said. "You wouldn't want to use the helicopter in every situation where someone is missing. But if an 85-year-old woman has been missing for five hours already, it's time to move as fast as you can."