Indian American Woman Found Alive Six Days After Disappearing From a Walmart Store in Florida
- Anu Awasthi, found near a wooded area in a state of shock and bad condition, is recovering in a hospital.
An Indian American family in Florida is heaving a sigh of relief after a family member was found alive six days after she went missing from a local Walmart in Oldster. Anu Awasthi, a wife and a mom, was found near a wooded area on Aug. 16 by the volunteer group, We are The Essentials (WATS), which consists of veterans and former law enforcement officers aiming to help find missing people.
WATS told local media that said Awasthi was in poor condition and was unconscious when she was found on the local Walmart street. Nico Tusconi, president of We Are the Essentials told Fox News that Awasthi seemed to be in a state of shock and was in bad condition, but was able to communicate. She is currently recovering in the hospital, where she was reunited with her family, he told the news channel. Investigators told local media that her disappearance does not appear to be suspicious.
Elaborating on how the group found Awasthi, Tucson told Fox News that when they found that she had visited the CVS, they resumed their search in the area. “We had been searching around, and we found a CVS bag, and we knew she had been in CVS seven days ago, so we started doing a converged grid search, then about 20 minutes after that, we started hearing some whimpering,” he said. So the volunteers “started moving toward that sound, started to yell her name, that whimpering got louder, almost to a cry, I called out for my colleagues here, they were able to call 911 and follow my voice, and the next thing we know, we have Anu.”
Awasthi was reported missing to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 10 after her husband Vikas Awasthi said he dropped her off for a hair appointment at Walmart, NBC affiliate WFLA and Bay News 9 reported.
Family members told Fox News that since Awasthi’s father passed away earlier in the summer, they felt concerned about her well-being. “She had not been her usual self and was also living with depression and on medication.” Her son Rohan Awasthi told Bay News 9 that knowing his mother was alive made for “the happiest moment of my life — no doubt.” he got to know that his mother is alive.