OFFICERS from the National Police Air Service (NPAS) team found a vulnerable missing woman less than two hours after she was reported missing.

Officers across the force were deployed to search for a 77-year-old woman who had gone missing from her home in Coggeshall yesterday.

Teams on the ground and in cars combed the area, but with concerns for her safety growing as it got later in the day, our NPAS helicopter team was deployed to help with the search.

The team quickly decided to use the on-board PA system to appeal to members of the public in surrounding villages to report any sightings of the woman to our Force Control Room.

Within five minutes of the first announcement going out, our Force Control Room received four reported sightings.

These sightings enabled the team to pinpoint the area that the missing woman could have travelled to and she was located shortly after in Marks Tey where our NPAS team was able to guide officers on the ground to her.

The use of the on-board PA system was very useful and the quick thinking of the team on the aircraft resulted in the woman being located quickly and safely.

Our officers want to thank the public for reporting their sightings and encourage others to report information to us in the future to help locate missing people.