An at-risk woman who had been missing from her home in Petaluma since Tuesday has finally been safely located in San Francisco, the police department announced on Thursday evening at 10:08 p.m.
San Francisco Police Department called Petaluma Police At 6:50 p.m. to let them know that they had located Virginia Fuquay, 68.
Fuquay was discovered in a store in the South of Market area.
At approximately 6:20 p.m., SFPD received a call from a loss prevention officer at Target in the 700 block of Mission Street in San Francisco. The officer said Fuquay had been wandering the aisles of the store for over two hours, so they made contact with her and recognized her as the missing person from Petaluma.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
She has been transported for a medical evaluation in San Francisco and then will be brought back to Petaluma, police said.
Earlier on Thursday she had been spotted in San Francisco trying to get into a locked apartment that she believed was her own but was not. A Good Samaritan attempted to help her and called the police, but by the time the police arrived she had wandered off.
Since her disappearance on Tuesday, authorities have distributed hundreds of fliers and used a K-9 tracking dog, thermal imaging by aircraft, and drones to search for her.
The California Highway Patrol airplane used a thermal imaging device in the search, and the Petaluma Fire Department used its rescue boat to search the Petaluma River, near Petaluma Blvd South, police said.
"We wish to thank everyone that has assisted us in locating Virginia," said the Petaluma Police spokesperson.
