GREENWOOD – A missing Paris woman found on the edge of a swamp here Wednesday morning died of hypothermia, Oxford County Sheriff’s Department Capt. James P. Miclon said.

Searchers in the air found the body of Rosa Guilford, 78, near Sheepskin Bog Road. She was discovered about 150 yards from her car, which was found Tuesday on the narrow, dead-end dirt road. She was last seen Friday evening by relatives and reported missing Sunday morning.

Her body was taken to Weston-Chandler Funeral Home in Paris where assistant medical examiner Dr. Daniel Mingle ruled the cause of death as “hypothermia secondary to exposure,” Miclon said Wednesday night. The death has been ruled “accidental,” he said.

Miclon said Guilford’s body was spotted by members of the Brunswick Naval Air Station Search and Rescue crew 10 minutes after a helicopter search began Wednesday morning. He said the area was so wooded and boggy she wouldn’t have been visible from the ground unless someone walked right up to her.

“I’d like to thank the rescuers,” said Larry Guilford of Paris, Rosa’s son. “They were so together, and they knew just what they were doing and put forth a tremendous effort.”

He said his mother had recently seen a doctor about a problem she was having staying focused.

“She got confused easily. I’m sure that’s how she ended up where she was,” he said.

Guilford’s red Mercury sedan was found by a town highway crew checking the road Tuesday morning.

“Keys were missing from the car, and she had her pocketbook, a habit her family said she had,” Miclon said.

Police never thought that she had been abducted, even though evidence was difficult to gather from her car and the area it was in, he said.

“There was no physical evidence because of the rain – a heavy, heavy rain” Tuesday afternoon and evening, Miclon said. “I interviewed the family by cell phone. They felt that she wandered off.”

A search for her began Tuesday afternoon by local police and volunteers. They were joined by personnel from the Maine Warden Service at 5 p.m.

Mark Latti, Maine Warden Service spokesman, said throughout the evening Tuesday rescue dogs and personnel from about six search-and-rescue services from Rangeley to Machias joined the search.

“During the night we generally run dogs,” Latti said. “There were probably 10 dog teams searching throughout the night, when we can’t do a visual search.”

He said the dog search was probably unsuccessful because the heavy rain washed away much of the scent. And, not knowing how long she had been there, the scent may have been weak prior to the rain.

On Wednesday morning a plane from Maine Warden Service was in the air as were two helicopters from the Air National Guard in Bangor and BNAS.

Miclon said an interview indicated that Guilford may have been at one of the West Paris convenience stores at 1 p.m. on Saturday. He said it was a strong possibility that she continued on to Greenwood, where she was raised.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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