Joy DeHarpporte, an 80-year-old woman described by police as a vulnerable adult with memory issues, was safely located Friday after walking away from her home along the Mississippi River bluffs in Minneapolis earlier that morning. She had last been seen around 9 a.m. leaving her residence in the 4300 block of West River Parkway South, wearing a purple T-shirt and blue shorts.
The Minneapolis Police Department shared an update Friday evening confirming DeHarpporte had been found safe, according to a Minneapolis Police Department post on Facebook. Before that resolution, officers had asked for the public's help finding her, describing her as a Caucasian woman standing about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing roughly 120 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. The department had assigned the case incident number 26-247306 and asked anyone who spotted her or knew her whereabouts to call 911 immediately.
DeHarpporte's home address places her at Becketwood Cooperative, a resident-owned senior living community of 211 units spread across 12 acres of bluffland overlooking the river, according to Minnesota Good Age. Founded in 1986, the cooperative depends heavily on resident participation in its committees and arts programs, and DeHarpporte herself has been an active community member there, having contributed poetry to the co-op's internal newsletters, per records maintained by Becketwood Cooperative.
Why Police Moved Immediately
Minneapolis officers were required to act on the report without any waiting period under Minnesota's so-called Brandon's Law, a statute enacted in 2009 that mandates law enforcement immediately accept and investigate missing person reports involving dangerous or vulnerable circumstances, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The law traces back to the 2008 disappearance of 19-year-old Brandon Swanson in rural Minnesota. Local department procedure reinforces that mandate: under Minneapolis Police Department Policy 7-328, officers responding to a missing adult report must confirm the person's status, notify dispatch, and begin National Crime Information Center entry procedures if the person is believed to be in imminent danger.
That urgency reflects the real risks tied to memory-related wandering. Roughly 60% of people living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias will wander from home at least once during their illness, according to data cited by the City of Wheaton citing the Alzheimer's Association. National research adds further weight to a fast response: a University of Florida study of missing dementia cases found that 82.3% of memory-impaired wanderers are located within 12 hours, but as many as 46% of those not found within 24 hours face a severe risk of injury or death.
Statewide Alert Systems Back Up Local Searches
Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension maintains a Missing and Unidentified Persons Clearinghouse that can broadcast statewide Endangered Missing Person Alerts and coordinate social media notifications for vulnerable adults, a system that works alongside local police searches. Statewide, roughly 10,000 children and adults are reported missing in Minnesota each year, though public safety data cited by the Marshall Independent notes the vast majority are found unharmed shortly after disappearing. Minnesota currently relies on these Endangered Missing Person Alerts rather than a dedicated Silver Alert broadcast system, though state lawmakers have repeatedly weighed bills such as House File 1829 in the 2023–2024 session to formally establish one across highway signs and public media networks.
The Crimestoppers of Minnesota tip line remained available for anyone with information, accepting anonymous tips online at www.crimestoppersmn.org or by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Regionally, rapid public alerts have paid off before: in July 2025, Burnsville police used swift social media notifications to locate a 60-year-old vulnerable adult with a traumatic brain injury shortly after he walked away from his neighborhood, a case Hoodline previously covered. It remains unclear exactly where DeHarpporte traveled during the hours she was missing or whether public tips directly contributed to her being found, and police have not said whether she required any medical evaluation after being located safely.
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