An elderly woman missing from a Hamilton rest home for almost two weeks has been found by police in Tauranga.

Joan Gringley, 68, left her rest home on Tuesday, October 11, telling staff she was going out and would return on October 13 or 14.

Police say it is not uncommon for her to leave the rest home.

When she failed to return to the rest home staff became concerned for her safety and raised the alarm with police.

"We made quite a few inquiries including checking her bank activity to assist us,” Waikato police Senior Sergeant Pete van de Wetering tells Fairfax.

On Monday morning a concerned member of the public spotted the woman in Tauranga and contacted police. A patrol picked Gringley up 'unharmed but fragile” says Pete.

'In the end police ended up bringing her back to Hamilton to the rest home where she lives.”

He is unsure how the 68 year old made her way to Tauranga and if she had a vehicle with her at the time, but Pete says the main thing is she was safe and sound.

- Additional reporting from Stuff.co.nz