Family members of Virgil and Marie Haney were overcome with relief after the elderly couple, who went missing Saturday, was found in Alabama early Monday morning.

Virgil Haney, 90, was pulled over by law enforcement officers in Jefferson County on Monday morning, and Marie Haney, 83, was found walking around in the rain near Cullman, said the couple’s grandson Daniel Morgan.

“She wasn’t with him, she got out of the vehicle somewhere near Cullman,” said Morgan. “Law enforcement there found her walking around in the rain Monday morning in distress. It wasn’t long after that they found my grandfather in Jefferson County.”

Morgan said Marie Haney was in a hospital in Cullman on Monday being held under observation, and that his mother, Sharon Haney, was bringing Virgil Haney back home.

What started out as a Saturday morning drive became a statewide alert after the couple went missing. The Haneys left Rome in their 2000 Lincoln Towncar to go to Dawsonville at 8 a.m. Saturday and were last heard from at 11 p.m. the same day.

“They were out driving on Saturday and ended up down in South Georgia near Warner Robbins,” Morgan said. “We don’t have family or friends down there. It looks like they just got lost or turned around. They ended up in North Alabama and somehow they got separated.”

But how the Haneys deviated so far from their course of destination remains a mystery to the family.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever know how exactly they ended up there,” Morgan said.

“My grandparents are pretty elderly, but they haven’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia yet,” he said.

Morgan said having not heard from the Haneys was a frightening experience and the family was desperate to have them safe at home once again.

“We were shocked and horrified,” he said. “We really didn’t know where to begin.”

There came a point when Sharon Haney knew she had to alert law enforcement about her missing parents, Morgan said. Then a Mattie’s Call, Georgia’s alert for missing elderly or disabled persons, was issued for the Haneys. In the meantime, family members resorted to social media methods in hopes of finding the elderly couple.

“Mom called 911 late Saturday night or around midnight on Sunday,” Morgan said. “They issued a Mattie’s Call. We spent yesterday putting the message out on Facebook and contacted friends in the South Georgia area because the last we knew was that that’s where they were.”

But now that the Haneys have been found and are safe, their family is very thankful, Morgan said, for the community’s efforts to help locate his grandparents.

“We’re certainly grateful and overwhelmed by the response of the community, for their prayers and concerns,” he said. “We’re grateful to the Rome-News Tribune and the Floyd County Police Department for all their help.”

Hopefully, he said, Marie Haney can return home soon.

“My grandmother is not entirely out of the woods yet,” he said, “But things could have been a lot worse.”

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A community is coming together to pray for a well-known Floyd County couple that has not been heard from since 11 p.m. Saturday.

According to 911 officials, Virgil and Marie Haney left Rome in their white 2000 Lincoln Towncar to go to Dawsonville around 8 a.m.

They were last heard from by a family member at 11 p.m. Saturday and have not been heard from since.

A Mattie’s Call, a statewide alert for missing elderly or disabled persons, was issued for the Haneys.

Virgil Haney is 90 years old and Marie Haney is 83 years old. 

According to alertnews.net, Marie Haney was wearing a short-sleeved white and tan sweater. Virgil Haney was wearing khaki pants and a light long-sleeved blue shirt.

Their cell phone was last pinged near Pulaski County in south Georgia, according to family members.

The Haneys owned a Rockmart Highway gas station for many years and were well known.

A Facebook page has been set up to help spread the alert. Friends and some who do not know the Haneys offered prayers and shared their thoughts and concerns on the page throughout the evening.

Anyone who may have information about the Haneys can call the Floyd County Police Department at 706-235-7766 during business hours or the 911 Center at 706-236-4542.