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Missing Fayetteville woman found in S.C.

Theresa Blue, 63, was picked up by a Columbia police officer on Nov. 8 after he spotted her wandering the downtown streets of South Carolina's capital. She has been in the custody of the local social services agency since then, police said.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fayetteville woman missing for six weeks has been located in Columbia, S.C., police said Thursday.

A Columbia police officer picked up Theresa Blue, 63, on Nov. 8 after he spotted her wandering the downtown streets of South Carolina's capital. She has been in the custody of the local social services agency since then, police said.

She was found was a few blocks from a bus station in Columbia, Fayetteville Det. Jessica Navarro said. Blue had no identification or belongings.

"She was confused and very disoriented. She could not say her name or where she was from or any information initially," Navarro said.

Officials said Blue eventually said her name was Theresa McDonald, which is her maiden name.

Case worker Sandra Eskew worked with Blue in recent weeks and was finally able to gather enough information to determine her identity, police said. She called the Fayetteville Police Department on Wednesday to notify them of the situation, and an investigator and a victim advocate drove to Columbia to confirm the woman there was Blue, police said.

Blue, who is believed to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, left her home on Nov. 7 and was later seen trying to get food in a Fayetteville State University cafeteria, police said. Someone from the university took her to the Salvation Army shelter on Alexander Street, but she walked off when she was briefly left alone during processing, police said.

Blue is temporarily in the custody of the Social Services Department in South Carolina. Social Services officials plan test Blue for Alzheimer's disease.

Moses Blue searched for his wife for three days before walking to the police station – he doesn't have a car – to report her missing. Upon hearing his wife had been found, Moses Blue was very excited, Navarro said.

"He spoke to her today on the telephone and he's just very anxious to be reunited with her, especially during the holiday season," Navarro said.

Investigators are working with the Cumberland County Department of Social Services to find a place in Fayetteville for Theresa Blue to live that will ensure her safety and welfare, police said.

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