Published Sunday, July 21, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
A five-hour search for a missing elderly woman ended in tragedy Saturday when Sharon Mayor David O. Ryan found the woman in a parking lot.
Sharon police and firefighters, with the help of neighboring police and fire departments, local businesses and residents, began searching for Amelia "Mildred" Kapusta, 84, of Crawford Drive, Hermitage, at about 11:30 a.m. Mrs. Kapusta got out of a car in the parking lot of Sharon City Centre around 11:15 a.m. and wandered away while her husband, Joseph Sr., was inside a store, police said.
Mrs. Kapusta suffered from Alzheimer's disease, police said.
Ryan said he joined the search at about 3:30 p.m. and at 4:18 p.m. he found Mrs. Kapusta in a car in a parking lot at West Budd Street and South Irvine Avenue.
When Ryan found Mrs. Kapusta he said she was sitting in the back seat of the car slumped over like she was sleeping. He said he looked inside the cars because family members told police Mrs. Kapusta would sometimes leave her house and sit in cars.
Police said they checked that parking lot a few hours earlier and Mrs. Kapusta wasn't there. Police won't know the time and cause of death until the coroner's investigation is complete.
Firefighters went around area parking lots looking inside cars earlier in the day. Police said they contacted all local businesses, churches and the library. They also contacted the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service and a local cab company but no one had seen Mrs. Kapusta, police said.
Sharpsville police brought their dog Ron in to aid in the search and by 2 p.m. firefighters were patrolling the Shenango River in a boat looking for any sign of Mrs. Kapusta. Additional Sharon policemen were called to work early to join the search.
By 4 p.m. volunteer firefighters from all around the area had been called in to canvas the area and police said they were waiting for more dogs to come from a department in Mecca, Ohio.
Ryan said he wants to thank everyone who joined the search for Mrs. Kapusta. He said the police had a "tremendous amount of volunteer help" from many people who he said are very sad about the outcome of the situation.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharon-herald.com
Incomplete obituary on page A-4