Close call for missing woman

An elderly woman missing for almost a week in arid country near Broken Hill in western New South Wales has been found alive, but only just.

Janet Luscombe, who suffers from mild dementia, was found barely conscious, with her pet dog Dazzie by her side, about 25km from the outskirts of the city.

Police had been considering scaling down the search but a last-ditch effort by the local flying padre, John Blair, picked up a signal from the 69-year-old's medical alert bracelet.