Enid Brotherton, 72, was last seen on Friday night and had made no contact with her family over the weekend before they reported her as missing.

Detectives joined the investigation on Saturday as police concerns for her welfare grew.

However, police received the best possible news late on Sunday evening when Ms Brotherton was located at Rydal Hospital just after 5pm.

No further information about how she got there or what had happened was available at the time of going to press.

Chifley local area command duty officer Inspector Ben Macfarlane said it was a great relief to police that Ms Brotherton had been located and the best possible outcome for all involved.

He thanked the community for their assistance in spreading their appeal for information on her whereabouts across social media.

Police had held serious concerns for her welfare as her photo, as well as car registration details, had been released to both mainstream media and social media on Saturday, with little result.

Family members also took to Facebook, posting photos of Ms Brotherton and appealing for anyone who had seen her or her car to contact police.

Ms Brotherton left her Cross Street home on Friday night and was missing for almost 48 hours before being located at Rydal.