Deputy Mike Vasquez, public information officer at the Hemet Station’s Riverside County Sheriff’s office, confirmed Wednesday, Aug. 24, that the body found by a hiker on Sunday, Aug. 21, is that of Josephene Youssef, 71, of Pinyon.

Youssef had been missing since June 7 when she went for a walk from her family’s home in the 70-300 block of Highway 74 in Pinyon Pines.

Youssef was considered at risk since she suffered from dementia and spoke only Arabic. At the time of her disappearance, authorities conducted a ground-and-air search-and-rescue operation, but to no avail. Her family had organized a Facebook campaign and continued to have hope long after the official search had concluded.