Missing crash victim found hiding in home

North Stonington – A 25-year-old local woman was found hiding in her home after police and emergency crews spent more than eight hours searching for her Tuesday night when they came across her damaged car at a crash scene.

A state police trooper came upon the crash shortly after 2 p.m. near 116 Route 201. The car had heavy front-end damage and the driver was no where to be found, according to an accident summary.

Police searched a wooded area near the home of the driver, but they did not locate her. Troopers initially were not overly concerned because there was no violent collision and there was no indication of injuries.

Troopers returned to the scene when darkness fell and the woman was still not located or heard from. Police called local hospitals, put out a missing person alert, searched the area with police dogs and called in town fire department members who used thermal imaging devices to search for the woman, according to the accident summary.

Approximately eight hours after searching, the woman, Whitney Karpinski, was found hiding within her residence, according to police.

No other information was available.