Body of Yolanda Howell, missing 78-year-old grandmother with dementia, found in Country Club Hills
Howell was found dead in a forest preserve a few miles away from her home
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (WLS) -- It is not the outcome the family of a missing Country Club Hills woman with dementia was hoping for.
The body of 78-year-old Yolanda Howell was found Saturday morning in a forest preserve a few miles away from her home.
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"I want to thank everybody for all their help, their prayers, just anything that anyone did," said Claudette Edwards, Howell's daughter.
Relatives say it was a police officer searching for Howell who found her body in a wooded area near Flossmoor Road and Central Avenue. That's only a couple of miles from the south suburban home she shared with her elderly husband at the intersection of 187th and Cedar.
The discovery was made around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning after an anonymous tip that the mother and grandmother was seen walking in the area came in the night before.
"A phone tip came in yesterday evening, leading us in a direction west of Cicero. We followed up last night, but were met with negative results, so first thing this morning, we also followed up with the drone unit and also on foot," said Country Club Hills Police Department Chief Michael Wilson.
Howell had been missing for 11 days. Ring camera footage confirms she was last seen on Oct. 8.
Local police and other agencies had been looking for Howell for the past week. Divers had been concentrating on bodies of water in the area.
"I am Claudette's roommate from college. Her mother was like a mother to me, so we just really want to thank everybody," said family friend Twanda Amos.
The volunteers who gathered this weekend to search for the woman were devastated when Saturday's search was called off after her body was found.
"For the family to have closure. That was my main reason for coming out today so the family could have closure," said volunteer Aubrey Fourte.
"We are just so appreciative of the entire Country Club Hills community. The police, the sheriff, they left no stone unturned," said family friend Ruquiyah Rahman.
Amid the sadness, Howell is being remembered as a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She retired from a phone company and was an avid baker known for her strawberry cakes.
"And she would do anything for us. She was the bestest!" said family friend Nicole Davis.
On Saturday, there is also closure.
"I'm glad we got the closure, but we can be happy and rejoice she's with the Lord," said family friend Latisha Slaughter.
Police said a cause of death for Howell was currently unclear, with an investigation underway to determine further circumstances.
