Missing grandmother from Newark found on Jersey City porch, asking for water

NEWARK (WABC) -- A missing elderly woman from Newark was found early Friday morning in Jersey City.

Dorothy Williams was found around 12:30 a.m., police said.

Williams, 80, was last seen at the University of Medicine and Dentistry Wednesday afternoon. She was supposed to return to her nursing home, but she did not come back on the ambulance.

Williams' family said she suffers from advanced dementia.

According to police in Jersey City, two officers on patrol were flagged down in front of a home on Garfield Avenue for a disoriented female sitting on the homeowner's porch. The officers described her as extremely confused, with hospital bands on each wrist. The wristband on her left wrist stated "Dorthy Williams (1/31/1935) from Rutgers University Hospital Newark, N.J." and the other stated "New Community Extended Care with Dorthy Williams (1/31/1935)."

Williams did not know where she was and kept asking for water.

The homeowner told police that the family arrived home with their children at approximately 9 p.m. and noticed Wiliams sitting on the porch steps. Later, he walked back outside to get something from his car and noticed her still sitting on their porch. He then asked her if she was OK, and she asked him for some water.

The officers contacted New Community Extended Care, where a woman informed him that Williams has been missing for 48 hours from Rutgers University Hospital. She contacted the Rutgers University police department, and a Jersey City Medical Center ambulance transported Williams to Jersey City Medical Center, where she was placed in the emergency room and was admitted for observation and testing due to the extent of time she was not in the care of medical staff.