Brooklin woman lost overnight found safe

A Brooklin octogenarian was found cold but safe in the woods Sunday morning after an extensive overnight search.

Suzanne Sandifer, 81, evidently had taken a wrong turn on a Saturday morning walk in the dense woods behind her house and searchers began looking for her Saturday night, according to a warden.

“We spent the entire night saturating the area with searchers,” said Game Warden Alan Gillis, who was with the search team. “It was wet. It rained hard last night. They were miserable conditions to be in the woods, but it was relatively warm. Had it been rainy and cold last night, it may have been a different outcome.”

Several dog teams and about 20 wardens from Hancock and Penobscot counties joined the search last night. Before Sandifer was found Sunday morning, wardens and search and rescue crews were mobilizing from across the state in a big push before Hurricane Kyle made landfall.

Gillis said Sandifer appeared to be mildly hypothermic, but was able to sit upright on an all-terrain vehicle that took her out of the woods.

“Any search when you find a person alive, that’s always a successful search and you’re really pleased with that,” the warden said.