HOWARD TOWNSHIP — A missing Cass County woman was found by Cass County’s K-9 unit Tuesday evening.

Sheriff Richard Behnke reported that at 9 p.m., his deputies responded to Pine Lake Street near M-60 in Howard Township for a 46-year-old woman that had walked into the woods near her home and had not returned.

Family and friends became concerned because they said she does not leave the house often due to medical issues. They began to search the wooded trails around the home, and when they could not locate her, they notified the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. They were very concerned due to her medical condition, length of time she was missing and dropping temperatures.

Approximately 11 hours after she went missing, K-9 Nellie, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office bloodhound, was able to lead Deputies to the female’s location, about a mile from the residence in a thickly wooded area. The female was disoriented, cold and was transported to Lakeland Niles by SMCAS ambulance.

Assisting deputies on the scene was Pokagon Tribal Police, Dowagiac Police Department, Howard Township Fire and SMCAS Ambulance.