LOCAL VOLUNTEERS, air and sea rescue groups and gardaí have been thanked for helping to find a missing US tourist.
Congratulations have been offered from friends and relatives of Kelly Jones who was found alive in a mountainous area in Co Donegal after going missing at the weekend. Gardaí still had not spoken to Ms Jones in Sligo General Hospital yesterday but they could be given an opportunity by medical staff when her father arrives from his home in Georgia today.
She was unable to tell rescuers how she came to be in a holiday home called the Old Rectory when she was found before lunch on Wednesday.
Gardaí are now considering that Ms Jones, who was being assessed both medically and psychologically in hospital, may have lost her way on a walk and become perplexed because of a psychological condition.
She was sighted in a number of areas well away from where she was eventually discovered outside Glencolumbkille.
She has been seen before she was reported missing and afterwards, but by the time searchers reached the reported locations, she had wandered elsewhere.
Insp Sylvie Henry said the 41 year old, who worked in catering in Charleston, South Carolina, was clearly distressed at the time of her discovery.
He added: “Not every reported sighting of a redhead was the missing Kelly but we do realise it was her who was sighted a number of times. That was away in the opposite direction to where she was found.”
The Old Rectory was searched on Sunday shortly after Ms Jones was reported missing from her hostel in Malinmore, 2km distant, and it was again searched on Monday at 7.30pm. She was last seen on Saturday at about 5.30pm not far from the house.
Rescuers and gardaí are adamant there was no forced entry during the first two searches.
When it was searched again on Wednesday, while rescuers were going over areas already searched, a broken window was noticed and a woman was seen moving about inside.
The scene where the tourist was found is not far from the rescue operation’s headquarters. It was established during most of the hunt in the Glencolumbkille GAA club. Insp Henry said: “We are 150 per cent sure she was not held against her will.
“We believe the earliest she could have been in that building was Monday night, but where she was the other nights is really a mystery.”