On Wednesday evening, Oak Ridge police were notified by Tom Rohling, Greenbriar Drive, that he had seen Ms. Kelly on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Rohling said at the time he saw Ms. Kelly he did not think she was lost but that she was out for a stroll.

It was not until Rohling read an article in Wednesday's Oak Ridger that he realized Ms. Kelly was lost.

"Mr. Rohling supplied key information to us," Oak Ridge Police Chief Tim Braaten said. "He gave us pretty good hope she was still in the area."

The Oak Ridge police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, after unsuccessful searches Wednesday on foot and by helicopter, asked Boy Scout Troop 129 to join the search as extra eyes and ears.

School Superintendent Robert Smallridge excused the scouts from school all day to take part in the search.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. today, the scouts were knocking on the doors of residents on Scenic Drive searching for clues. After an hour and a half canvassing the neighborhood, the scouts fanned out into the woods.

Dr. Robert Lash, of the UT Lifestar Helicopter, examines Margie Lee Guffey Kelly. (Photo by Alex Keto)

Bowers said he had been searching for about an hour when he found Ms. Kelly.

Scout leader Tom J. Moore, Y-12 computing division, notified Oak Ridge police Sergeant E.T. Greene that the scouts had found Ms. Kelly. Lt. D.H. Beams immediately notified fire rescue units and the Anderson County ambulance service.

The fire rescue, ambulance, and police units responded and formed a line of vehicles on Scenic Drive as 10 to 15 emergency personnel headed into the woods to assist Ms. Kelly.

It was obvious that Ms. Kelly hovered in critical condition fluttering between life and death, and time was of the essence.

The University of Tennessee Memorial Hospital Lifestar Helicopter was summoned to Oak Ridge, and rescue workers used a Stoke Litter to move Ms. Kelly to the top of a windswept hillock about 500 yards from Scenic Drive where Lifestar could land.

From the distance, the chopping noise of Lifestar could be heard as firemen set red flares out on the landing zone. A rescue worker guided Lifestar in with voice commands and directions.

As Lifestar come in over Oak Ridge, the rescue worker issued his last direction, "Head east Lifestar."

"Roger, coming around," Lifestar responded.

The noise of the chopper grew stronger as it came in about 500 feet off of the ground. When the white and orange helicopter cleared the treeline, the 20 or so scouts shouted "Visual contact made" and waved their arms.

The Lifestar circled the landing zone once and headed back in from its original direction. The chopping noise of its blades became a thunderous roar as helicopter came in low.

Wind swept loose brush and leaves from the hillock as rescue workers labored over Ms. Kelly. A fireman held a pint of plasma aloft by hand.

Once on the ground about 50 yards from where Ms. Kelly lay, the Lifestar crew throttled back the engine. Three crew members ran to assist the rescue workers.

Dr. Robert Lash of Lifestar checked Ms. Kelly's faint heartbeats and her blood pressure was checked again.

The Lifestar crew decided it was safe to move Ms. Kelly. Six rescue workers hoisted the Stokes Litter and carried it half way to the chopper. The Lifestar crew and the rescue workers gently lifted Ms. Kelly and transferred her to the Lifestar litter.

Ms. Kelly was hoisted up again and carried to the helicopter.

The pilot throttled the engine forward and the thundering of the blades returned. Debris flew vertically forcing some rescue workers to glance away from the chopper as it lifted off.

A fireman shouted "There she goes," as the chopper twisted around to head towards Knoxville still on 10 feet off the ground. With a dart, the chopper gained speed and headed up and over the treeline, out of site.

Once in the Emergency Room of U.T. Memorial, paramedics worked to warm Ms. Kelly.

The outlook in the fight for Ms. Kelly's life was hopeful, but it has only begun. Dr. Lash said they could only raise her body temperature one to two degrees an hour.

"She is alive. She is looking better. She could live, yes, and thus far, we are optimistic," Dr. Lash said at 12:30 p.m. today.

In a following article:

"Mrs. Kelly Dies at UT Hospital

Margie Lee Guffy Kelly of Oak Ridge died this morning in the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.

Mrs. Kelly had wandered away from Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital and Center on Monday and was the object of an intensive, citywide search. She was found Thursday morning in a gully near Scenic Drive.

Discovered by members of Boy Scout Troop 129, Mrs. Kelly was suffering from extreme hypothermia, dehydration, exposure, fatigue and starvation. She was taken by Lifestar Helicopter to the medical center."

The Family of Margie Guffy Kelly expressed their heartfelt appreciation to the City of Oak Ridge Police Department, the Oak Ridge Boys Scouts of America -- Troop 129, Oak Ridge Ambulance Service, and others who joined the search for Margie. They stated "The concern, cooperative effort and prayers of all involved allowed her loved ones to be with her during her last remaining hours. God Bless You All."

They ask that any memorials be in the form of gifts to Boy Scout Troop 129, Memorial Fund, Great Smoky Mountain Council of Boy Scouts, 6440 Papermill Road, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919.