Missing woman, 87, from Hemet found

A 87-year-old Riverside County woman reported missing for about three weeks, during which she was treated at a San Diego hospital and released, has been found.

The California Highway Patrol said in a tweet that Manuela Smith had been found and that the Silver Alert previously issued for her had been deactivated. The agency did not provide any further details.

Amie Zamudio, director of the nonprofit Housing 4 the Homeless, said in a tweet Friday evening that Smith had been located, and was “safe and sound.”

It was unclear Friday night where and how Smith, who has dementia, was found.

According to the CHP and the Riverside County Sheriff ’s Department, Smith was last seen Aug. 25 in Hemet, where she lives with her daughter. The CHP issued the Silver Alert for an at-risk missing person on Sept. 2.

Zamudio and other advocates working on issues related to homelessness and social justice appeared with Smith’s family members at a news conference Monday where they explained that Smith was treated for back pain over the Labor Day weekend at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest.

After Smith was released from the hospital, she encountered Zamudio at a bus stop in Hillcrest on Labor Day, Sept. 5 and told Zamudio she was homeless. Zamudio checked the woman into a hotel room, but Smith later went for a walk and did not return.

The Rev. Shane Harris, president and founder of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates, said at the news conference that “there cannot be a disconnect” among hospitals and county and city government when patients are released from hospitals without anywhere to go.