The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents in the area of the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley to check their home cameras, after a hiker with dementia went missing on Thursday.
Margaret “Elaine” McKinley, 79, was hiking with her family on the Lost Trail when they became separated sometime around noon on Thursday, May 1.
McKinley, a Redwood City resident, is white, has gray hair, and was wearing a red jacket and black pants when she went missing.
About 150 search and rescue personnel were scouring the 1,400-acre nature preserve and areas west of it on Saturday, according to a news release from the county.
The Sheriff’s Office asked anyone who lives in the area and has a home security camera to check the camera for footage between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday and fill out an online form, even if there were no sightings of McKinley on the footage. Anyone who sees McKinley on their camera should call 911 and also fill out the online form. A lack of sightings can also help investigators, according to the county’s release. The form is available at https://tinyurl.com/5atpjv5u.
Multiple aircraft have been deployed in the search, including one from the state’s Office of Emergency Services with specialized tracking software. Search dogs, and sheriff’s deputies on horseback, motorbikes and bicycles have also been sent into the preserve, but no sightings of McKinley had been made by Saturday at about 12:30 p.m.
The preserve remains open to the public, but the parking lot off Portola Road was closed as of Saturday afternoon. Visitors and residents should expect to see an increased law enforcement presence in the area as the search continues, according to the county.
Source: NBC Bay Area