Officers praise spirit of community in search for Julia

We would like to thank the public and businesses for their help in finding missing Julia, from Cheadle, today (Friday 17 January).

Julia, 77, was last seen at around 4.30pm yesterday (Thursday 16 January). Thankfully, she was found this afternoon.

Today, our officers were offered help by in excess of 200 volunteers.

More than 40 Search and Rescue Team (SART) volunteers, coming from Staffordshire, Derbyshire, West Mercia and Cheshire, also took part.

Detective Chief Superintendent, Victoria Lee, said: “Community spirit made a huge difference, enabling the emergency services to find Julia and return her to her family.

“We were given the use of Draycott Sports Centre all day to co-ordinate the search and rescue efforts.

“When local officers went to buy refreshments at Tesco, Meir Park, the store donated more than 50 meal deals.

“More than 30 JCB workers stopped work to help with the search.

“Overnight we also had use of Huntley Wood visitors centre as a base.

“We would like to thank everyone for this heart-warming response, which demonstrates community spirit at its best.”