ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996              TAG: 9612030116
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-3  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER

WOMAN'S CAR RECOVERED

A MISSING MARTINSVILLE woman who may be confused was last seen just south of Roanoke.

A Martinsville woman missing since early Sunday was last seen near the Wal-Mart on Franklin Road in Roanoke County two days ago, police said. Her abandoned car was recovered Monday on U.S. 220 by Roanoke County police.

A Roanoke County police officer dropped Maudie Russ, 49, at the Save-X next to Wal-Mart about 2 a.m. after her car ran out of gas, said Kevin Davis, a Save-X employee working at the time. Russ then called her daughter, Donna Via, about 4:30 a.m., said she was out of gas and had no money, then abruptly hung up, Via said. Save-X employee Howard Mayhew, last saw Russ walking south on U.S. 220 about 8 a.m. Sunday.

"She was talking to herself. I don't think she knew where she was," Davis said. ``I gave her some coffee because she didn't have any money.

"The only thing she said to me was, `I don't think I'm going to get home tonight, and when I do I'm going to be in trouble,''' Mayhew said.

Russ suffers from manic-depressive disorder and has been hospitalized in relation to the illness. "She gets real depressed and hears voices," Via said. "She only gets like this when she is off her medicine."

Via said Russ has been missing before and has turned up in Roanoke on one prior occasion.

A missing-persons report was filed with the Martinsville Police Department, and that information has been entered into the National Crime Information Center computer, said Martinsville Police Sgt. T.C. Porter.

Roanoke County police recovered Russ' car about 5:44 a.m. at U.S. 220 and Starlight Lane. The vehicle was first checked by an officer on the midnight shift Dec. 1, but information on the license plates did not come up until police checked again Monday, Roanoke County Sgt. F.B. Haggerty said.

Via has no idea why her mother was traveling toward Roanoke at that time. She had a Sunday appointment with a psychologist in Roanoke, but she never showed up, Via said.

Russ is 5 feet tall, weighs about 170 pounds and has short, curly brown hair that has been frosted, a light complexion and hazel eyes. She was wearing blue jeans and a white jacket.

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