Former Ballard resident Joe McMurchie found his mother yesterday, ending a year-long search for her.

Last week it was reported that McMurchie had been searching for his mother, Gini McMurchie, 57, for more than a year after she disappeared from his grandmother's Ballard home. She suffers from seizures and possibly the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Yesterday, March 25, Joe received a call from someone who had read the story about his missing mother. The caller said she had seen Gini regularly at a Ballard home, where it turns out she had been staying since Christmas.

Joe and his son immediately took the bus to the address given.

"My mom was right there with an erderly gentleman that had been letting her stay there," said Joe, a Lynwood resident. "I know she is fairly OK. She definitely needs some help, but she has a roof over her head, and is safe."

Joe had plans of bringing her home, but for now, she will stay where she is.

"But I hope to get her somewhere that she can get help so that she can be on her own," said Joe. "We are gonna have to find out about halfway houses that can help her. But for now, she is OK, and the owner of the house is willing to let her stay."

Joe said he has received calls from many people who have spotted Gini or who were just concerned.

There are plans to reunite Gini with her mother, who hasn't seen Gini in nearly a year, since her disappearance.

"Thank you so much, I couldn't have found her without your help," Joe told the News-Tribune.