Elderly Woman, 80, Lost in Forest Found After Enduring a Day of Heat & Rain

Picture courtesy of Amarin.

An 80-year-old woman who went missing in the dense forest of Khao Nok Kra Jib, Phetchaburi, has been found after enduring harsh conditions including sun and rain while waiting for help.

Mrs. Chuen Hringruam, a resident of Nong Pha Thaen village, Cha-am district, went missing on the morning of 25 May while foraging in the forest area of Khao Nok Kra Jib near Ban Don Khun Huai, Phetchaburi. A large-scale search operation involving the village headman, rescue teams from Sawang Sanphet, highway police and over 50 local volunteers was launched immediately, but the woman was not found throughout the day.

In the late afternoon of 25 May, the rescue team, led by Mr. Angkarn Jiamtua, head of the special task force of Sawang Sanphet rescue, along with Mr. Udompong Sanmuang, director of Ratchaburi Disaster Response Centre, deployed a heat-detecting drone over hundreds of rai of forest in an attempt to locate Mrs. Chuen.

During the search, local villagers from Ban Khao Luk Chang, who were also foraging, encountered the elderly woman around 16:00. She reassured them that she was accustomed to walking in the forest and was not lost. They offered her water and a mango to eat before parting ways. It was only later realised that she had in fact been missing.

Relatives, who had joined the search, discovered her abandoned fertilizer sack about two kilometres from the point where she was last seen. Continuing their search into the night, villagers finally located Mrs. Chuen near the Awadon Khun Huai ravine around 21:00.

She was found injured, having fallen on a hillside and been stung twice by wasps, which forced her to abandon her sack and flee for safety. Exhausted, she was resting near a local shrine about 3 to 4 kilometres from where she first went missing.

Rescue workers promptly provided first aid and carried Mrs. Chuen down the hill on a stretcher before rushing her to Cha-am Hospital. Her condition is reported as stable.

Mr. Montree Muangsawasdi, headman of Nong Pha Thaen village, said the search efforts were hampered by heavy rain, making conditions difficult. Upon finding Mrs. Chuen, she was suffering from leg and eye injuries and was unable to walk on her own. He expressed gratitude to all the rescue teams, local villagers, and volunteers for their dedicated efforts in finding and assisting her.

  Adapted by Asean Now from Amarin 2025-05-27.