82-year-old rescued after dramatic fall from embankment!

82-year-old rescued after dramatic fall from embankment!

On March 31, 2025, an 82-year-old woman was rescued by police in a dramatic rescue operation after her son reported her missing two days earlier. The 58-year-old man reported his mother missing on March 30 after she left her home in the Ried district. The officers immediately began the search and combed through the older woman's possible whereabouts.

The search led police to an embankment above a stream near the woman's home address. There they found the very frightened woman who called for help. Apparently she had been injured in a fall and was unable to free herself. The emergency services rushed to the ground and freed them. Suspected hypothermia could not be ruled out, so the lady was immediately taken to the hospital to receive treatment.

Missing people in Austria

Cases like this are not rare. The Competence Center for Absent Persons (KAP), which was founded in the Federal Criminal Police Office in autumn 2013, reports between 10,000 and 12,000 reports of disappearances every year. According to KAP, around 75% of missing people are minors, often from care facilities. In addition, statistics show that 55% of those lost are women, while 45% are men.

From 2016 to 2022, the police recorded a high return rate. About 85% of missing people turn up within a week, and 95% within a month. The KAP is tasked with coordinating the search for missing people at both national and international levels and works closely with other security services.

Challenges in finding missing people

Another aspect is that the reasons for people disappearing are very different. Common causes include family problems, mental illnesses and dementia. Statistics from Germany show that over 100,000 reports of missing persons are filed every year, with over 50% of them being young people.

The reason for registration is often psychosocial tensions or those that are related to the magic of social media. The police also carry out risk assessments in such cases to assess the urgency and take appropriate action.

The search assistance campaigns now also use social media and publish information via public information channels in order to make the search for missing people more effective. Relatives are advised to respond immediately in the event of a person's disappearance, gathering information and using social media to spread the search to increase the chances of being found.

The dramatic rescue of the 82-year-old woman demonstrates the commitment of the police and the need to act quickly when people go missing. The importance of education and dialogue between authorities and relatives is becoming increasingly important.