Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-1894786-20141225064843/@comment-1894786-20150105175137

Ingrid probably left Storybrooke before the Curse hit, but I doubt she lived in the forest for an entire year, waiting for the town to reappear, so maybe she went to New York to watch over Emma? That makes the most sense, especially since Emma had no memories of her at that point.