BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — The multi-day search for a missing Brooksville couple amid Hurricane Idalia ended in tragedy Thursday morning.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Albert and Cynthia Allen, ages 76 and 73 respectively, were found dead in a wooded area after a traffic crash.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office sent out an alert early Wednesday morning saying the couple was discovered to be missing from their home on Star Road on Tuesday afternoon. Officials and search and rescue groups urgently scoured the area ahead of the oncoming hurricane, as the couple had various disabilities and did not bring their medication with them when they left home.
“These cases are never easy,” said Nico Tusconi with We Are the Essentials, a nonprofit that assisted with the search. “Mr. and Mrs. Allen were married for 57 years.”
A cell phone belonging to the couple was pinged within 3 miles of Hernando Oaks, off U.S. 41 in Brooksville, on Wednesday. The sheriff’s office said the couple was involved in a single-car crash off of Powell Road in Brooksville.
“Hopefully we gave the family some peace,” Tusconi said. “There won’t be closure, there never is, and this one hurts twice as bad because we have two victims.”
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
