She was described as 30 years old, Caucasian, 5 foot 6 inches tall and 113 pounds with shoulder-length red hair. According to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office press release, Engbretson was last seen at 7 p.m. Sunday wearing a dark-colored dress, gray sweat pants, a dark blue or black coat and a scarf.
Doyle told the Lake County Leader that she apparently went for a walk. She left a note saying she was fine but not to look for her.
He said no one had any indication that she intended to harm herself although she may have been suffering from depression. He said canines and helicopters with thermal imaging were used in the search of land as well as canals and waterways.
Orchestrated from a command center at the Mission Airport, the search focused on a 4-mile radius around Engbretson’s residence on Allison Road in St. Ignatius. All structures in the area were checked.
About 60 people are participating in the effort that includes using dog teams and horses along with the canines and aircraft.
In addition to the sheriff’s department, search manpower includes Lake County Search and Rescue members, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Law and Order officers, tribal fish and game and tribal fire officers, ALERT and members of the Amish community.
Flathead County Sheriff’s dispatch was alerted about the missing woman at 11:27 a.m. Monday. Deputies assisted by checking with officials at the train depot after receiving information that she may have gone to Iowa.
No tickets were found purchased by Engbretson and no one fitting her description was seen at the depot.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 406-883-7301. The news source for this story and all content came from the montana news site. www.dailyinterlake.com ....................... update from orig story......The Amish woman from St. Ignatius is now back at home with her family after being missing since Sunday night. When Naomi Engbretson, 30, disappeared she left a note saying "Please, please don't look for me".
Lake County Sheriff Jay Doyle says a St. Ignatius resident spotted her walking on Airport Road a little after 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning. The person recognized her and offered to give her a ride, but she refused. But shortly after that, she was reunited with her family.
Police then took her to St. Luke Hospital in Polson where officials reported that she's in "good health".
Engbretson told her family she had been hiding in a building near her home and at one point she could hear searchers, but kept hiding claiming that she "didn't want to be found".
Doyle told us in an interview that he is unsure if the building was a barn, shed, or home, but added that the owners are out-of-state during the winter months.
Doyle thanked the more than 100 volunteers who helped with the search and pointed out that the sheriff's office has only a limited number of people to help in searches and that the more help the community offers, the better.
"In the winter time when we have missing persons, it's very important to get as many people involved in the search as possible. We did have a favorable outcome and Miss Engbretson is safe with her family," Doyle said.
Eh added that Engbretson hasn't been saying much but did tell her family that she was drinking water, but did not eat during the time that she was missing.
Doyle told us that Engbretson didn't commit any criminal acts while she was missing and that the owners of the structure where she was staying are not going to press charges in the case. Updated story from www.kxlh.com
