An 87-year-old Cassatt woman with dementia who went missing Friday was found dehydrated and suffering from hundreds of fire ant bites Sunday morning.

Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said Mary Myers Clark, who has dementia and memory loss, was believed to have gone out to walk but didn’t return. Law enforcement and emergency officers searched areas near Mt. Hebron and Yarborough roads Saturday, and a helicopter from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division was used to survey the rural areas.

Searchers had already been combing the area Sunday morning when two Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department firefighters on four-wheelers sighted Clark on the ground on a fire ant hill, Matthews said. Dehydrated and suffering from what the sheriff called “hundreds of fire ant bites,” she was airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland, where she was in critical condition.

Matthews praised the efforts of firefighters, deputies and volunteers who worked to find Clark.

“Our community rallies around each other during times of crisis. It is refreshing to see the commitment of our emergency services personnel and the public in working so closely together to bring these difficult situations to a close. Our prayers are with Ms. Clark while she recovers,” said Matthews.