Updated at: 02/01/2010 4:17 PM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews

Local Taxi Driver Aids Police in Finding Missing Disabled Teen

ALEXANDRIA, MINN. - A 19-year-old mentally disabled teen is safe Friday after she disappeared into the cold Thursday night.

Ariel Koenig walked away from Douglas County Hospital around 8:15 p.m. Thursday. A local cab driver found her almost four hours later, and she's now at Hennepin County Medical Center being treated for frostbite on her feet.

"I looked down, and I saw somebody walking so I sped up and got close and thought, 'That's her'," taxi driver Richard L. Iverson II said.

Iverson started looking for Ariel Thursday night around 10, more than two hours after she walked away from Douglas County Hospital.

"Police called me and said to be on the lookout for a missing girl and gave me a description," Iverson said.

Iverson drove around the area, searching county roads and intersections for any sign of the teen.

"I was worried about abduction, so I wanted to find her fast before anybody else did, because she was vulnerable," Iverson said.

Authorities said although Koenig is 19, she has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, and they're not quite sure why she walked off in the first place.

"For whatever reason she walked out of the hospital at her own will and went out into the climate," Alexandria Police Chief Richard Wyffels said.

Chief Wyffels said every minute counts in a situation like this, especially because Koenig wasn't dressed for the cold weather.

As the hours passed, Iverson knew finding her was crucial to Koenig's safety.

"It was so cold. You can't survive long so it had to be fast," Iverson said.

Iverson finally spotted Koenig walking down Hawthorne Street shortly before midnight.

"She was covered in snow when I found her and shivering and crying," Iverson said.

Officials said Koenig lay down in a snow bank for a period of time, which is why no one could find her.

"I jumped out of the car and before I could get her into the car, because I have child locks and it always locks...and she was crying and trying to open it, and before I could even open it up 20 cars showed up...they rushed her in and blanketed her up and shipped her off," Iverson said.

Chief Wyffels called Iverson a local hero and thanked everyone in the community who helped with the search.

"It's wonderful to have a person like that be involved," Chief Wyffels said. "Very appreciative of the community who stepped forward to help us from the professional agencies to the citizens who cared very much about this."

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com