Alabama Woman Who Had Been Missing For Five Days Found Alive Inside Wrecked Car
An Alabama woman who had been missing for five days has been found alive — amidst the wreckage of her crashed car — after a nearly deadly experience.
Robin Joyce Fancher was on her way to the post office when she went missing on April 17. The 49-year-old was last seen leaving her home in the Greentree Apartments area of Headland at around 10 a.m. According to The Daily Mail, she was driving her 2003 Mitsubishi Galant when she disappeared, and ended up going missing for five full days. Her whereabouts were a complete mystery for that span of time.
But on Monday afternoon, a passer-by in Dothan spotted the back of a silver car — partially visible in a ditch — that was covered in tree branches and leaves. The person called 911, and emergency responders found Fancher pinned against the driver’s door, still conscious. A rescue team comprised of experts from five different agencies worked together to free the Alabama native in a risky operation that lasted almost 90 minutes. Fancher was reportedly able to communicate with rescuers during the whole mission.
According to Dothan Fire Battalion Chief Pete Webb, the effort to extract her from the crashed vehicle presented a series of challenges, as she was tightly pinned against the car’s door.
“The main challenges were going to be where the car was and where the victim was pinned against the driver’s door. It was off the road and it was difficult to get the car to pull around her,” he told Dothan First.
Fancher’s car was not easy to spot for people traveling along County Road 2013, and Alabama State Troopers said in a press release that they believed the accident had taken place several days ago.
Robin Joyce Fancher has been found alive in her wrecked car five days after she was last seen in south Alabama. https://t.co/gkLTPn0bmU
— News 19 (@whnt) April 23, 2019
As per The Daily Mail, an unidentified family member confirmed that Fancher had suffered several injuries. She was then rushed to a local hospital, and is said to be in stable condition at the moment. However, specific information about the severity of the crash — or how the woman survived — is yet to emerge. Both the sheriff’s office and the Headland police are said to be conducting an investigation into the bizarre incident, and it’s still unclear if any other cars were involved in the crash.
“Alabama State Troopers are investigating a single vehicle crash that was discovered today, April 22, by a passerby around 12:30 p.m. on County Road 203 at the Limestone Creek Bridge, just south of Dothan,” said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. They added that Fancher, “who was entrapped in the vehicle,” was eventually taken to hospital to receive treatment.
