Rescuers found a 71-year-old woman who had been missing for four days – alive in the undergrowth at rugby club.
Concerns were mounting for grandmother Janice Warren who had not been seen for several days.
She was only found after an extensive search of woodland area around Forest, Gloucestershire, entangled in the undergrowth.
Despite torrential downpours and thunderstorms, Janice was alive and conscious when she was discovered by members of the Severn Area Rescue Association.
She was found in woodland near Bream Rugby club on Saturday, after a massive search of the woodlands.
A spokesperson for the rescue group said: “We were all delighted that she had been found alive.
“We had feared the worst as she had been missing for several days which includes some awful weather.
“It was a great result for the whole team, and really shows that all the training we do is worthwhile”
The land search teams were first called out to help police on Friday night, and in the pouring rain they searched the hazardous terrain until 1am when they were stood down.
The area has a vast underground cave system which goes under the village and surrounding woodlands.
On Saturday the numbers were boosted by members of Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group, South Wales Search and Rescue Dog Association, and the Midlands Cave Rescue Organisation.
Plans to take part in the Nashville Day in Chepstow were called off so every available SARA member could join the search for Ms Warren.
Although the conditions were “arduous” the rescuers were rewarded when they found the pensioner alive and conscious.
“We were delighted that the missing lady was located by one of our teams early this afternoon,” they wrote on their social media site.
“Two of our Casualty Carers were able to attend to the lady and looked after her until an NHS Ambulance arrived. We wish the lady a speedy recovery.”
Emergency services and rescuers have not said if Mrs Warren had been outside since she went missing.
Earlier in the day granddaughter Emma Louise Skidmore thanked everybody who joined in the massive search for the pensioner.
She wrote “We cannot thank everyone enough for all the help, shares and searching you have all given.
“We are more than grateful and over over the moon and as you can imagine extremely happy.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and please remember that mental health is a serious thing so if at any point you see someone struggling please help.”
“Real trooper” Janice from Quedgeley, Gloucestershire is currently recovering from her ordeal at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where she is in a stable condition.
Granddaughter Emma Skidmore visited her in hospital and said Ms Warren will still need a lot of medical treatment before her health is back to normal but is lucky to be alive.
She is still too poorly to talk about her ordeal but her family say she had been lying in the same area since going missing from her nearby home on Tuesday.
Her family thanked the volunteers who searched the woodlands in torrential rain looking for any signs of the pensioner.
Emma from Gloucester said: “She’s currently in hospital and will be here for a while I can imagine.
“Everyone is super shocked at how she managed to survive outside in those conditions with no food or drink for that amount of time, especially at her age.
“She’s extremely poorly still but doing well considering what she has been through.
“We are truly grateful for all the help and support. She is a very very lucky lady and we can’t thank everyone that has helped enough.
“Everybody is amazed about how she survived. It shows she’s a real trooper, a real fighter and if she can survive that she can fight her way back from this.”
Neighbours raised the alarm when they noticed Ms Warren had not been hanging out her washing or taking the bus into the nearest town as usual.
Emma’s mother Sarah Skidmore rushed over from her home in Gloucester, with a key and realised her mother, who had been unwell, had disappeared.
Ms Warren was reported missing on Tuesday August 13 and the family spent a nail-biting few days as police searched her village which is surrounded by woodlands and was being lashed by torrential rain and high winds.
Members of the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) joined the search on Friday and worked until 1am on Saturday morning without finding any sign of the pensioner.
Appeals to find her were circulated on social media and other volunteer rescue organisations from Gloucestershire, South Wales and the Midlands joined the desperate search for Ms Warren on Saturday.
Members of the Severn Area Rescue Association eventually found her still shivering but conscious near Bream Rugby and Social Club in the village which is only about ten minutes walk from her home.
She was then wrapped in thermal blankets and looked after by specialist casualty carers until an ambulance took her to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
“As time went on we started fearing the worse,” said Emma. “They searched all the woodlands but could not find her and the weather was terrible.
“But in the end it was the best possible outcome. I really wish we could personally thank each and every person that helped search for my gran individually but that’s not possible. But we want to let everybody know she’s now stable and we are really, really grateful for everything.”