Bloomington woman’s family offers thanks, requests privacy

 

Carmon Edwards
Carmon Edwards of Bloomington is reunited with family after a Good Samaritan offered her shelter in Mattoon.
(Bloomington Police photo)

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – The family of Carmon Edwards is expressing gratitude to all who helped find the Bloomington woman who disappeared on Christmas Day.

Edwards, who suffers from a recent cognitive decline, never showed up for family gatherings in Tazewell County, and instead wound up in Mattoon.

Police say a resident in that Coles County community gave Edwards shelter for a couple of days, then realized she was missing, and took her to Illinois State Police headquarters in Pesotum.

In a statement, the woman’s daughter, Lindsay, thanked the Good Samaritan who saved her mother’s life.

Lindsay Edwards also thanked Bloomington and Mattoon Police, the Mattoon Fire Department, and State Police. She’s also grateful for people who shared postings about her mother on social media. Bloomington Police said more than 800,000 people saw those postings.

The younger Edwards is asking for privacy, and says it’s nothing short of a miracle her mother is alive.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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