Missing Woman Found, Missed Sleep Lost

Missing Hoffman Estates woman found alive in nearby vacant house — chicagotribune.com

A Hoffman Estates woman who failed to return home after going for a walk with her dog was found unharmed Monday in a vacant house nearby, police said.

Astrid Nordgren, 88, who has symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, was found in a house in the 1500 block of Glen Lake Road, said Hoffman Estates Police Sgt. Gregory Poulos. The vacant home is about a block from where she lives with her son and his family in the 1500 block of Fairfield Lane, Poulos said.

Well, this is a relief. Particularly at 4 ack emma this morning, the phone rang concerning her. It was an area-wide robocall, alerting everyone to BOLO (be on the lookout) for the lady and her dog, who was thought to be wandering around looking for home.

We stopped to put some clothes on first, though. I was so groggy that I grabbed a winter fleece pullover, no pants and made as if I was going to go out. Nope, something was a bit breezy south of the border, so I found a robe (also winter fleece, need a summerweight one) and went downstairs after David, who eventually found a pair of shorts.

I actually stepped outside with the flashlight and checked the backyard – David checked the front. There was nothing to be seen or heard, so back to bed we went, but there wasn’t really much point in sleeping. David ended up going downstairs, and made coffee later – but then we had guys coming to the house this morning to do some work. I dozed fitfully, leveraged my eyes open with two big mugs of java, and went to work.

But it’s a relief to know that she was found this afternoon, safe and mostly sound.

Poor lady, I’m glad they found her, and much as I thought, she was within a block of home. A friend of mine lives in the northern section of the village, with her elderly mom and dad. As her dad is an Alzheimer’s person (has been for the better part of a decade) I suppose the disruption to routine wasn’t helpful. Also, the implications that the cops can call every phone number in the area to alert everyone to an emergency are… interesting.

I suppose if a tornado was on the way, we’d be glad of it. If a child was missing, we’d be glad of it. I don’t know if they used it in a much smaller area around a house where someone barricaded himself in after a family dispute. It was bad enough when we were awakened by the loudspeakers and the hovering helicopter. I guess we’d be glad the village can ring us up if a dangerous axe-murderer is known to be in the immediate area.

I’m glad she was found, I am. I’ll just go to bed earlier to try to catch up on the sleep we missed. Technorati Tags:

Unitarian Chuch Shooting Motivated by Hatred

The Lead

The man who attacked the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church during church services yesterday was said by local police to be motivated by hatred. The congregation’s web site says that they have already begun a healing process that will include a debriefing for those present at the shooting and a community candlelight vigil for those killed and injured.

NYTimes:

A man who the police say entered a Unitarian church in Knoxville during Sunday services and shot 8 people, killing two, was motivated by a hatred for liberals and homosexuals, Chief Sterling P. Owen IV of the Knoxville Police Department said Monday.

What a terrible shame.