Facebook tip helps police identify Des Moines woman found outside in cold

Updated Jan. 19, 2026, 12:27 p.m. CT (This story was updated to add new information.) Des Moines police have identified an elderly woman who was found wandering outside in below-freezing temperatures early in the morning on Jan. 19. The Des Moines Police Department said in a news release that a member of the public provided a tip that helped officers identify the 78-year-old woman within 12 minutes of sharing her picture on social media. “Thank you to all who reached out to help!” the news release said. “Her medical care continues, and she is being reunited with her family.” Police said in an earlier news release that officers found the woman on the 4100 block of East 29th Street just after 1 a.m. At the time, the temperature was 5 degrees, with a wind chill of 14 degrees below zero, police said. After police took the woman to the hospital, medical personnel determined that she had suffered a stroke, although they could not say whether the stroke happened recently or in the past. Police said the woman was non-communicative.
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