Missing woman, 82, rescued by SMILE, reunited with kin

Madurai: An 82-year-old woman, who went missing on March 16, was rescued and returned to her family on Thursday.The woman, R Jayalakshmi, was living with her son in Bryant Nagar, Tuticorin district. She failed to return home in the afternoon of March 16, after visiting a temple. R Babu Sindhanai, one of her children, said that he filed an police complaint after learning from his brother that their mother had not returned yet.On March 17, Jayalakshmi was found near MGR bus stand in Mattuthavani by SMILE project workers. As she was unable to give details about where she lived or with whom initially, Jayalakshmi was given food and shelter and lodged there.After a few days, SMILE got in touch with the family and reunited her with her family."We were filled with worry about her safety for the past 10 days," said Sindhanai, thanking Dr Abhishek, Madurai corporation assistant health officer and nodal officer of the SMILE project, for her safe return.Dr Abhishek also urged the family to take more precautions when caring for the elderly to prevent such a situation from happening again.