Laura
07-27-2008, 12:46 PM
http://www.silive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/121715103159720.xml&coll=1
Missing woman returns
Karen Kelly's mysterious disappearance prompted an outpouring of SI support
Sunday, July 27, 2008
By DEBORAH YOUNG
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The developmentally disabled 55-year-old woman whose mysterious disappearance Tuesday inspired hundreds of offers of assistance from concerned Staten Islanders, returned yesterday to her Sunnyside group home -- exhausted but unharmed.
Karen Kelly walked into the residence run by A Very Special Place at a little after 7:30 a.m. after spending nearly 100 hours hiding out in the Concord neighborhood where she had grown up, said Diane Buglioli, deputy executive director of A Very Special Place.
"She is in very good shape; her clothes were a little wet, dirtier than she is used to, and she was hungry, but she had been eating," Ms. Buglioli said. "We were so relieved to see her."
Apparently Ms. Kelly had been feeling upset, and planned to visit with a friend from her childhood neighborhood, taking along some extra money, food and water for an extended stay. But the elderly woman Ms. Kelly sought out apparently was not home.
So Ms. Kelly -- a short and sturdy woman with blue eyes, glasses and a fondness for cats -- remained in the woman's backyard, finding a way into the cellar when the harsh weather moved in, said Ms. Buglioni.
Family members and staff at A Very Special Place will continue to gently coax details about the sojourn that triggered Ms. Kelly's sudden behavior change from a woman, who for years, took public transportation and kept to her routines.
"We'll keep talking with her and putting all the pieces together," said Ms. Buglioni. "This was a very scary experience for her."
The experience was also frightening for Ms. Kelly's family and friends.
Every night since she was last seen near Victory Boulevard and Clove Road, where she boarded the S 62 bus, an informal search party of more than 20 people gathered at her brother's Sunnyside home.
They, along with other volunteers, distributed more than 20,000 flyers in neighborhoods where police from the North Shore's 120th Precinct thought Ms. Kelly might turn up, based on her history and travel patterns.
"The range of emotions you go through when somebody is gone like that; it's the worst thing," said her brother John Kelly. "I was so relieved when I heard she was back. She was quiet and she gave us hugs. We asked her if she's okay. We said please never do that again."
Kelly said he has spoken with A Very Special Place about monitoring his sister more closely in upcoming months and about accompanying her when she travels.
"We'll be assisting her through this transition time," said Ms. Buglioni, adding everybody was steeled in the search by an enormous outpouring of support.
"I want to thank so many who people called, wanting to know if she was found, asking if there's something they can do," she said. "It represents the best of what Staten Island can be. People band together; it's a small town."
Deborah Young is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at young@siadvance.com.
©2008 SI Advance
© 2008 SILive.com All Rights Reserved.
Missing woman returns
Karen Kelly's mysterious disappearance prompted an outpouring of SI support
Sunday, July 27, 2008
By DEBORAH YOUNG
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The developmentally disabled 55-year-old woman whose mysterious disappearance Tuesday inspired hundreds of offers of assistance from concerned Staten Islanders, returned yesterday to her Sunnyside group home -- exhausted but unharmed.
Karen Kelly walked into the residence run by A Very Special Place at a little after 7:30 a.m. after spending nearly 100 hours hiding out in the Concord neighborhood where she had grown up, said Diane Buglioli, deputy executive director of A Very Special Place.
"She is in very good shape; her clothes were a little wet, dirtier than she is used to, and she was hungry, but she had been eating," Ms. Buglioli said. "We were so relieved to see her."
Apparently Ms. Kelly had been feeling upset, and planned to visit with a friend from her childhood neighborhood, taking along some extra money, food and water for an extended stay. But the elderly woman Ms. Kelly sought out apparently was not home.
So Ms. Kelly -- a short and sturdy woman with blue eyes, glasses and a fondness for cats -- remained in the woman's backyard, finding a way into the cellar when the harsh weather moved in, said Ms. Buglioni.
Family members and staff at A Very Special Place will continue to gently coax details about the sojourn that triggered Ms. Kelly's sudden behavior change from a woman, who for years, took public transportation and kept to her routines.
"We'll keep talking with her and putting all the pieces together," said Ms. Buglioni. "This was a very scary experience for her."
The experience was also frightening for Ms. Kelly's family and friends.
Every night since she was last seen near Victory Boulevard and Clove Road, where she boarded the S 62 bus, an informal search party of more than 20 people gathered at her brother's Sunnyside home.
They, along with other volunteers, distributed more than 20,000 flyers in neighborhoods where police from the North Shore's 120th Precinct thought Ms. Kelly might turn up, based on her history and travel patterns.
"The range of emotions you go through when somebody is gone like that; it's the worst thing," said her brother John Kelly. "I was so relieved when I heard she was back. She was quiet and she gave us hugs. We asked her if she's okay. We said please never do that again."
Kelly said he has spoken with A Very Special Place about monitoring his sister more closely in upcoming months and about accompanying her when she travels.
"We'll be assisting her through this transition time," said Ms. Buglioni, adding everybody was steeled in the search by an enormous outpouring of support.
"I want to thank so many who people called, wanting to know if she was found, asking if there's something they can do," she said. "It represents the best of what Staten Island can be. People band together; it's a small town."
Deborah Young is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at young@siadvance.com.
©2008 SI Advance
© 2008 SILive.com All Rights Reserved.