Sumter County deputies locate missing 83-year-old

The 83-year-old woman was missing from her Sumter assisted-living residence for at least two days, was located conscious and alert shortly before noon Monday, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

Steinkie “Christine” Seales, last seen at an assisted-living home on Sumter's North Main Street, was found on the campus of Chestnut Oaks Middle School, about four miles away from the residence, a sheriff's office release said. She was to be taken to Tuomey Regional Medical Center in Sumter for evaluation and possible treatment.

“We’re glad to see this situation have a happy outcome, but we will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding it so we can determine what led to this unfortunate situation in the first place,” Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said in the release.

The 83-year-old Seales, who has been diagnosed with both dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, was reported missing at about 5 p.m. Saturday, but it is unclear at this time exactly how long she had been missing before then, the release said.

Search teams of about  two dozen law enforcement officers conducted several searches during the past weekend for the missing woman. The sheriff's office used its airplane to assist.

Investigators with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office have been assigned to continue to look into the conditions that led to this incident, the release said.

Braden Bunch, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said Sunday that officials were growing increasingly worried because the search for Seales was unsuccessful to that point.

This story was originally published June 21, 2015 at 2:01 PM.