An 88-year-old woman who vanished from Beverly Hills in Citrus County was found safe Tuesday night, bringing a swift end to a search that had prompted a statewide Silver Alert. Roselyn Spencer was last known to be in Beverly Hills, and the Silver Alert was issued for her.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office posted a Tuesday night update on its Facebook page indicating Spencer had been located. The update followed the earlier Silver Alert posted by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office for Spencer, who had disappeared from the Beverly Hills area.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had issued the alert for Spencer, who was described as last known to be in Beverly Hills in Citrus County, according to bocapost.com. The outlet later reported that FDLE had canceled the alert once Spencer was located. Descriptions circulated during the search listed her as 4 feet 11 inches tall with brown eyes, though the station's reporting on her weight varied — one bocapost.com account put it at about 150 pounds, while another bocapost.com report and the sheriff's office seed facts put it closer to 100 pounds.
How to Share Information
Members of the public were urged to help during the active search. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office number listed for tips was 352-249-2790, and people with information were also told to call 911.
No details have been confirmed about exactly where or when Spencer was found, or the circumstances that led deputies to locate her. The sheriff's office update offered no further specifics beyond confirming she was safe.
How Florida's Silver Alert System Works
Florida's Silver Alert program exists specifically for cases like this one. Per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the system is used to locate missing people suffering from an irreversible deterioration of intellectual faculties. When a missing person may be driving, the alert also leans on transportation infrastructure to spread the word quickly — the Florida Department of Transportation notes that a Silver Alert broadcasts information to the public via radio, lottery machines, dynamic message signs and 511 to help law enforcement find missing drivers.
For now, the outcome in Citrus County is the good news families hope for whenever one of these alerts goes out: an elderly resident reported missing in the morning, and found safe by evening.
