Unlikely hero helps save lost woman with dementia

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A missing Grosse Pointe Farms woman was found this morning and is now back home recovering.

The backstory:

Police, family and friends were searching for 65-year-old Janet Michels, who suffers from early-onset dementia.

"I saw her at my left side, she looked lost," Romero said. "Her face looked very scared."

It was about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and Romero had not seen any news reports about missing Janet Michels - but something about the condition of the woman she saw near Wyoming and Michigan Avenue in Detroit made her feel uneasy.

"That feeling stayed with me when I left her," she said.

But a few hours later Romero would see the woman again, this time wearing a pink jacket so she approached her.

"I asked 'Are you okay?' and she was kind of bleeding on one of her knees," Romero said. "She was very cold."

An active search was underway for Michels who was reported missing by her family Tuesday.

"Fortunately we have witnesses who pretty consistently called, called in and reported possible sightings," said Det. Keith Colombo, Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety.

But when police arrived at those other reported locations, Michels was already gone.

Romero did her best to get information from her.

"When she gave me the address, I was in shock. When she said Grosse Pointe and I said, 'That’s seven hours. Are you sure?'" said Romero.

She was also able to get a phone number from Michels.

"I finally got a hold of her husband," Romero said.

Moments later Michels' family members outside at the Mi Pueblo restaurant at Dix and Stair to pick up their loved one.

"It was a family right there, you could tell there was love," she said.

Romero says she doesn't feel like a hero.

"Like I said, I feel more like a vessel," she said. "We're used at this precise moment at the precise time."