The search for a hiker has extended to its fifth day in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in San Mateo County.
Margaret “Elaine” McKinley, 79, a Redwood City resident, has been missing since Thursday after being separated from her family while hiking. She has dementia and was last seen wearing a red jacket and black pants, sheriff’s officials said.
Over 150 search and rescue personnel and four drone teams from Alameda, Marin and Santa Clara have assisted. Over the last 72 hours, around 3,000 miles have been tracked by searches on the ground, according to the sheriff’s office statement.
The Sheriff’s Office has asked residents who live nearby to check their cameras day and night, starting on Thursday at 10 a.m., and report any information through an online form.
“We have received about a dozen responses to the form,” said spokeswoman Heather Enders.
Many specially trained search and rescue volunteers from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin and Sonoma Counties have helped San Mateo County with the search. Airplanes, drones, horses, K-9s, off-road bicycles and motorcycles have been utilized.
Today, 60 volunteers, six K-9 teams and drone teams were searching for McKinley. The search will end around 8 p.m.
“Our shared focus continues to be on finding Elaine. We remain hopeful and are each personally vested in these efforts,” said Sheriff Christina Corpus in the statement. I want to personally thank our dedicated volunteers and personnel. They have not wavered in their commitment, and we are indebted to them.”
The parking lot off of Portola Road will remain closed to the public, while entrances off of Skyline Boulevard will remain open.
How does a family lose someone hiking in their group and she is wearing a red jacket? How long would it be before you notice they are no longer hiking with you – i am assuming they realize she is 79, has dementia and wouldn’t just walk into the woods and let a significant amount of time go by without speaking or seeing her.
100% agree. Plus Windy Hill is wide open. Story really makes no sense. I especially love that the searchers are wearing red jackets and black pants. Really?
It’s not wide open, it’s quite steep off trail and thick with some deep drainages. Not all searchers wear red, and it’s pretty easy to distinguish a group of youngish searchers with search and rescue written all over their uniforms and hats. Are you really complaining about volunteers? Hoping they find her today.
I think you read the story wrong. It says the missing woman was wearing red and black. That’s helpful information, even if the searchers are wearing the same colors. You might read the story more carefully next time before you pop off.
The searchers, both San Mateo’s and the mutual aid groups, are wearing neon orange, not red. Some may wear neon green or tan. The only group I know of who wear red at the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit, who wear red jackets and tan shirts. None of these people are likely to be mistaken for a 79 year old lady. That area is primarily deep ravines, and anyone seen down in one is likely to need rescue.
She ran ahead of her friends.
Her partner, which was the only person she was with on the hike, was talking with another woman on the trail when this lady went ahead, out of sight. The partner thought she was just ahead the whole way back to the trailhead, which she said wouldn’t have been unusual for her. I’m not sure why this story says “family” as if it were a group.
People get separated from their hiking groups often. They insist on the rest of the group going ahead and that they will catch up, and then they make a wrong turn and become disoriented. I’ve had to search for overdue hikers at parks in the past because they split up from the rest of their group.
A little kindness goes a long way. I hope you never encounter judgement like you just passed on a worried family
Yes, it’s confusing on the surface, but there’s more to the story—especially if you know the area. She was hiking with a group of similarly aged friends and had already gone about three miles up near the top of Windy Hill. She bolted ahead, which apparently wasn’t unusual for her, and the others weren’t in a position to catch up. They never saw her again. I know the area well—there are countless directions she could have gone: tree-covered sections, hills and valleys, rocky outcrops, Skyline Blvd., or even down the west side of the ridge. So yes, a red jacket helps, but she could be anywhere. Hopefully they find her.
Do you know which part of the trail she was last seen and the direction headed?
I heard on Lost Trail…but headed which direction and in which portion? Near Hamm’s Gulch?
I hope she’s found safe. If she’s 79 with dementia why would anyone allow her to go ahead of them?
She’s been missing Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night. Maybe she’s OK. We can only hope.
It would be helpful to know what stage of dementia she has. Is it just occasional forgetfulness or is it full-blown Joe Biden-level “I see dead people” dementia?
Wow. First responders and volunteers are desperately searching for a missing elderly woman with dementia and you want to make off-topic political pot shots at a past president. You are lacking in empathy and character. You are the poster child for everything that’s wrong with this country. As usual, decent people with character and compassion will have to solve the problem while people like you indulge your partisan obsessions.
Eric, get off your high horse and stop virtue signaling. It’s pretty funny to think that Biden is a designation on the dementia scale. Remember the time he made the announcement while standing on the edge of the Amazon jungle. Then when it was over, he turned around and started walking into the jungle. After a minute or two, they had to send people in there to retrieve him. Not saying that what’s happened here, but sad things happen with this terrible disease. Please, stop the moralizing.
What is wrong with you? Don’t even talk about stages of dementia when you have no idea what that means. And Joe Biden did not have ‘full blown dementia’. Perhaps stick to subjects you know something about.
I know the Lost trail she was on. It is heavily forested with the trail extending into Razorback trail which also has a side trail to Skyline Blvd. Is it possible she took the side trail and got picked up by a car? Her friend said they hiked about 3.5 miles and then Elaine went ahead and got lost. The Lost trail is 2.3 miles ow from the picnic area trailhead to Razorback junction.
Does the 3.5 miles mean they turned around at the junction and were on their way back to the picnic area trailhead when Elaine took off? If so, she may have turned down on Hamm’s Gulch trail which is also heavily forested. Sure hope there is a happy ending to this story!!
I was thinking of this too- wondering if she could have gone downhill on Hamms or Razerback, then connected to another path out of the reserve- I am wondering if they are searching adjoining areas with trails like Coal Mine Ridge.
Other thought is she crossed Skyline up top – hopefully they are searching west of there also, she may not be in Windy Hill anymore?!
Praying for this lady daily !
Mt Lions? Check the Bay Area Puma Project cameras. I have seen mt lion scat on that trail.
From the latest info in the news from her hiking friends, they said they were coming back from their hike and were only .25 miles from the parking lot, when Elaine hiked on ahead. She should have been at the lot in a short time, but was nowhere to be found. Did someone take her away in a car? Did anyone ever report seeing her there? If there was a mountain lion attack, her clothing would have been found nearby. Lions don’t eat clothes. This is really a big mystery. I hope she has strong survivor skills.
I think this lady got into a car and left somehow. The sheriff got to highlight something else in the news for a week. Who would drive away with a hiker they don’t know? That seems like a troubling theory. Otherwise if she slipped down a cliff she and has been there for over a week at this point. Search and rescue people, dogs, drones not one clue has been found and no one spotted any signs of her. So sad either way.
This reminds me of the missing man that had dimentia who body was found 4 years after he went missing. These situations seem too coincidental and too easy to not wonder what actually happened to find remains.