Question: Whatever happened to the homeless “Jane Doe” who was supposed to be reunited with her family in New Zealand?

Answer: The 85-year-old woman now legally known as Ethel May Helmbright is being cared for in the dementia ward of The Princess Margaret Hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is scheduled to be moved next week to a rest home near her long-lost daughter in an undisclosed rural community in South Island, Helmbright’s family said.

They asked not to be identified to protect Helmbright’s privacy, but spoke to the Star-Advertiser to thank all of the people in Hawaii who cared for Helmbright, specifically her court-appointed guardian, Roger Petticord, the staff of the Queen’s Medical Center and the staff of the care home in Ewa where she had lived.

Helmbright has since put on weight and recognizes her adult grandsons whom she hasn’t seen in 20 years, when she set off for Alaska and disappeared, her family said.

In 2009, with her health and mental state deteriorating, Helmbright was admitted to Queen’s under the name “Jane Doe” after living in the bushes by the Waikiki Community Center for 10 years.

Petticord’s office took over guardianship in December 2009. After her health improved and she was transferred to an Ewa foster care facility, Queen’s officials and Petticord issued a plea to anyone who knew the woman with the New Zealand accent.

Back in New Zealand, the 57-year-old woman Helmbright had given up for adoption as a baby saw Helmbright’s picture on a news broadcast and immediately recognized the mother she had not seen in 20 years after Helmbright set off for Alaska.

The daughter and two of Helmbright’s nieces flew to Honolulu in September 2010 to reconnect with Helmbright and ease her transition back to New Zealand.

“There was a tremendous amount of work that went into getting her to return to New Zealand,” Petticord said. “We had to get the record corrected to reflect her correct name and needed (court) permission for her to leave this jurisdiction.”

Helmbright finally returned to New Zealand in February and immediately recognized the name of The Princess Margaret Hospital and accurately described that it was near a hill in Christchurch, the daughter said.

Next week Helmbright will be moved even closer to her daughter and her grandsons.

But the family has come to accept that they may never know what happened to Helmbright in Alaska — or learn how she ended up homeless on the streets of Waikiki.

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This update was written by Dan Nakaso. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.