TIPTON — It was a happy ending for a couple in their 80s who were reported missing from their Tipton County home overnight.

William and Reita Bartley were reunited with family almost 12 hours after they went missing. Police discovered their car driving the wrong way on an interstate 40 miles from home.

The Tipton County couple were supposed to be heading to a nearby family member’s home when they disappeared. After family didn’t hear from them and couldn’t find them, they called police.

There wasn’t a sign of them for more than 12 hours, until this around 2 a.m. when a police officer saw them driving northbound on the southbound lanes of I-465 on the city’s southeast side, speeding, in the rain and the dark. That could have been a recipe for disaster, but police were able to get them pulled over and stopped.

Mrs. Bartley was driving and Mr. Bartley was the passenger. The couple appeared to be in good shape as a state trooper transferred them to his patrol car and took them to the Post Road station where they waited for their daughter to arrive to get them.

“I can’t express the words of how glad I am, to be honest with you. We’ve been worried since 12 in the afternoon. We’ve gotten lots and lots of prayers. Thank God. Thank everybody,” said Joan Bartley-Lynch, speaking through tears.

The reunited family is headed back home to Tipton County. The couple’s family say that William and Reita do have a history of dementia.

Source: WTHR