Life
Police Discover Woman Walking Across Country With Amnesia
Somehow, she had ended up thousands of miles away from home. They were baffled by her story.
Catherine Marucci
10.17.18

Life can really be stranger than fiction.

A short trip to Reddit’s Glitch in the Matrix can entertain you with unusual cases of deja vu, mysterious jumps in time and the like.

And once you have your own glitch story to tell, those strange The Twilight Zone episodes don’t seem too outlandish anymore, do they?

The Norwood New Jersey police officers who questioned a mysterious walking woman they found in their town probably felt like they’re characters in a TWZ story.

The mysterious woman

The story goes that officers found a lost and seemingly disoriented woman wandering around Norwood, a borough in New Jersey’s Bergen County. After questioning, the police found that the woman couldn’t remember her own name or identity.

The only information she could give them is that she was a victim of a car accident in Washington state the year before and that she has been walking across the country, from West Coast to the East Coast ever since.

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Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook
Source:
Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook

The middle-aged woman also told the police that she is a veteran who might have served in Bosnia.

“She wasn’t giving us the full story. She didn’t remember her name, she didn’t know where she is, and when she does talk, she just talks about her service in various wars.”

– Norwood Police Chief Jeffrey Krapels in an interview with NBC.

Solving the mystery through Facebook

After entering her into law enforcement and missing persons databases, the police turned to social media to try and identify the mysterious woman with amnesia.

They posted a picture of the woman on their Facebook page with the caption:

“The Norwood Police found this woman on Livingston Street yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know who she is. This woman has been entered into ALL law enforcement databases and missing person organizations. Please share this photo and maybe we can get her home!! Thank you.”

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Google Maps
Source:
Google Maps

Jane Doe finally identified

The move proved to be effective.

Just a few days after the photo was posted, the woman’s daughters came forward saying that their mother has been missing for six months already.

The family is set to fly to New Jersey to come get their mother who is currently confined in the New Bridge Medical Center.

Facebook post
Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook
Source:
Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook

The woman’s name is kept private in consideration of the family’s request.

Still, the Norwood police are thankful for the people who provided leads and shared the Facebook post to reach the woman’s family.

“I always turn it around, how would you feel if you were missing a loved one. You would do all you can to get them back home, that’s all.”

– Chief Krapels

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Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook
Source:
Norwood Police Department, NJ via Facebook

A similar case of mysterious memory loss

Seeing this story unfold, we can’t help but be reminded of a famous case of temporary memory loss that mystified the world in the 1920s.

You may know Agatha Christie for her superb mystery and crime novels. But did you know she became subject in a real-life mystery case too?

In 1926, Christie disappeared without explanation for 11 days only to be found 200 miles from her abandoned car. And here’s the catch: she can’t remember anything that happened to her during those days.

What do you think of this story? Got any similar stories of your own? Tell us in the comments below!

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Video Source: PIX11 News via YouTube

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