Police have found an elderly couple with dementia who had been missing at New Norfolk in Tasmania’s south. Hazel Pickery, 79, and Gordon Pickery, 83, were last seen at a Woolworths supermarket in the Derwent Valley town shortly before midday on Tuesday. The rescue helicopter spotted them shortly before 9:00am off Glenora Road, just outside of New Norfolk. The couple spent the night about 500 metres down a rough blackberry-covered track on the banks of the River Derwent. Temperatures in the Derwent Valley fell to about minus 1 degree Celsius overnight. They were cold but otherwise relatively well after their ordeal. Ground crews searched throughout the night and police had launched two boats to search the River Derwent. As well as dementia, police said the couple had other medical conditions which required attention. They were reported missing about 8:00pm yesterday after failing to return from a shopping trip. It is understood they live at a retirement village in the area.
