Lilian Nyambura Mbugua, the woman who went missing from her family's home in Gikono, Kabati, Murang’a County on December 23, has been found alive.

Ms Mbugua’s family confirmed to Citizen Digital that the 28-year-old was found at a filling station in Maragua Town, Murang’a early Tuesday, some minutes past midnight.

“She was weak and confused,” her uncle, George Njuguna, said. “She says she found herself at the filling station and told the attendants on duty to call her mother.”

Mr Njuguna added that Lilian, a brand manager with East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) in Nairobi, was taken to a nearby health centre, where health officials said she looked “disturbed.”

“We are in touch with her employer and she is set to be taken to Nairobi for further medical attention as police continue to probe the incident,” said Njuguna.

Lilian travelled to her mother’s home on Saturday, December 21, for the Christmas festivities.All was well and they even attended a church service together on Sunday, December 22, before returning home. The family had a joyous breakfast and lunch together the following day, on Monday.

Then at about 5 p.m., Lilian walked out of their compound in a gated community for what the family says seemed like an evening stroll.

“It seemed like she had just gone for an ordinary walk around the estate because she was still in her head scarf and slippers. Her mother was doing some house chores in the backyard,” Njuguna previously told Citizen Digital.

But she did not return.

Upon trying to reach Lilian on her two mobile phones, they found she had left both gadgets in the house before heading out.

“Her car, its keys, laptop and keys to her Nairobi house were also in the family house, alongside all her identity documents,” added her uncle.

The family waited for Lilian in vain and reported the matter to the nearby Gikono police post on Tuesday, December 24 afternoon.

They also reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenol, which on Saturday, December 28, reached out to say investigations had so far established Lilian made three phone calls on Saturday evening, two days before she went missing.

On Sunday, December 29, police told Citizen Digital they had not received any possible leads to Ms Mbugua’s whereabouts and described the probe as difficult because Lilian did not leave the house with mobile devices that could be traced.

“It is a hard inquiry because if we had a phone we could track or a known motor vehicle we could trace, it would be easier to narrow down our lines of investigation,” Constable Patrick Maina of the Gikono police said then.

“We await more details from the DCI which could help us in the probe.”