DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. — The search for a missing woman and her great-granddaughter ended Wednesday after they were found alive after five-day search throughout central Virginia. Seventy-one-year-old Barbara Briley and five-year-old La’Myra Briley had been missing since Christmas Eve.
They were found in a wooded area by a property owner in Dinwiddie County, who called the police. Virginia State Police and the Dinwiddie Sherrif’s Office responded to the call. According to the VSP, they were found, “still seated inside the silver Toyota Rav4 that was parked on private property at least a mile from Nash Road.”
A sheriff’s office official says a man walking in a wooded area in rural Virginia stumbled across a missing New Jersey woman and her great-granddaughter.
Maj. William Knott of the Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s Office says 71-year-old Barbara Briley and 5-year-old La’Myra Briley were still inside their vehicle when the man found them Wednesday. Barbara Briley was found unconscious. The two had been missing for days. Police say that no foul play is suspected in their disappearance.
Knott says the man called 911 and the sheriff’s office responded. He says he has “absolutely no clue” how the Brileys ended up in the secluded area.
Barbara Briley was flown by State Police Med-Flight helicopter to VCU Medical Center in Richmond — according to the VSP, she is in serious condition.
Five-year-old La’Myra Briley was alert and appeared unharmed, but was been transported from the scene for medical evaluation. The child is now in the custody of a family member.
Police say that it appears Barbara Briley turned off of Nash Road and onto a dirt road, which she followed about 3/10 of a mile before pulling off into the woods. At one point, she drove over a small tree, attempted to back up and the Rav4 got stuck in a remote area of the property. Based on evidence recovered at the scene, it appears the two were there for several days but had enough drinks and snacks to sustain them for the duration of that time.
A local store clerk says Briley was asking for directions and left the parking lot shortly after 6 p.m.
Their family has been up and down I-95 and I-85 trying to find a clue.
They were told by investigators that Briley’s phone was last “pinged” Tuesday at 1:36 a.m. in the Tri-Cities area. They even received a tip that someone may have seen a car in a ditch on I-85.
