Volunteers, search dogs, and an AirTag helped find a missing 81-year-old in Sumner
All hands were on deck when an 81-year-old woman went missing Nov. 23 in Sumner.
Jeanine Knutsen reunited with her family that night, about 12 hours after she was last seen at 15519 62nd St. Court E., at the Stafford Suites on Thanksgiving Day, The News Tribune reported.
City spokesperson Carmen Palmer said agencies that were involved that day included the Sumner Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Washington State Patrol, and East Pierce Fire and Rescue, in addition to 30-40 search and rescue volunteers and volunteer search dogs. The State Patrol issued a Silver Alert and also did an air search, Palmer said.
“We haven’t had one of this size in quite a few years,” Palmer said.
Other agencies get involved in a search and rescue mission when the police cannot locate a missing person in a timely manner, Palmer said. They also had to act quickly because nightfall was around the corner.
Kristy Jenkins, Knutsen’s daughter, said the Apple AirTag with her mother had pinged last near 60th Street East and Sumner Tapps Highway East. She said her mom walked up a gravel road near Corliss Resources, Inc., a sand and gravel supplier off the highway.
Knutsen was on a “very steep hill,” Palmer said.
Jenkins said her mom wanted to go back down, but she fell. The search dogs and officers found her in some bushes, she said.
“She had swelling on the middle of her forehead. She didn’t have any broken bones. Her eyes were swollen. She said she landed on top of her arms and she couldn’t move,” Jenkins said. “She would have died.“
Jenkins wrote in an email to The News Tribune that family, friends and strangers helped look for her mom. There was an officer who chose to help because he had lost his grandmother the day before, she wrote.
“The support was just incredible,” Jenkins said.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
