A Bridgeport woman with Alzheimer's who had been missing for a week died shortly after she was found Sunday.

The family of 84-year-old Teresa Zangrilli spent the past few days trying to find her after she went missing last Sunday.

Her family says they believed she had a fighting chance after being found with the help of a civilian search team Sunday morning.

The group was made up largely of News 12 Connecticut viewers who saw coverage of the story, where Sunday's search effort was announced.

The coverage brought out over 50 people, who then organized into two groups— one of which found Zangrilli in a wooded area in Trumbull, off Cambridge Drive around 11 a.m. Sunday.

She was about a mile away from where she went missing and was suffering from exposure.

Her family says they were was ecstatic and full of hope as the ambulance carried Zangrilli to St. Vincent's Medical Center.

However, less than 30 minutes after she was brought to the hospital, authorities say she died.

The family says they do take some comfort in knowing that Zangrilli did hold on until help arrived.

They say they are still thankful for the search effort that brought their grandmother home with her heart still beating for at least some time.

State police also joined with local law enforcement to conduct a massive search by ground and air.