Missing woman found, ordeal still a mystery
Staff reports

SCOTTSDALE – The search for an elderly Scottsdale woman who disappeared just before Thanksgiving ended late last week when she was found near Interstate 17 in Yavapai County.

A group of off‑road vehicle riders spotted 67‑year‑old Alberta Heller late Friday walking along Bloody Basin Road, north of Black Canyon City, authorities reported.

Heller, who has a bipolar disorder and recently switched to a new medication, according to her family, was reported missing Nov. 22 when she failed to return from a trip to the grocery store. Scottsdale and Tempe police, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Arizona Department of Public Safety searched for five hours, but to no avail.

Law enforcement continued their search on Thanksgiving and on Friday, using air units to search the area from I‑17 to Bartlett Lake. At one point the missing woman, using someone’s cellular telephone, called her husband from the Cave Creek area.

Heller, who was suffering from dehydration when found about 6 p.m. Nov. 24, was hospitalized for treatment. She is expected to make a full recovery, police said. Over the weekend authorities were still looking for the beige Honda four‑door Heller was driving and could not yet explain how she wound up so far from home.