Additional resources are joining the desperate search for Carolyn Riggins.
The 70-year-old retired caregiver has been missing since July 11 and now her family is enlisting the help of a K9 search team.
Riggins is also a grandmother and great-grandmother.
Her daughter, Gale Haynes, said she has not given up hope her mother will be found alive.
“My heart is still in God that she’s going to be a testimony for us all. I haven’t given up hope that we will find her alive,” she said.
Riggins vanished after playing bingo at the Watauga Road Bingo Hall and winning a large cash jackpot.
Her car, a 2002 tan Lincoln Town Car with Texas license plate number CGB-1453 is also missing.
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Fort Worth police said they had no way to trace her cell phone because she didn’t have it with her.
Her bank and credit cards have gone unused, but there is one clue.
Riggins’ car was captured by a license plate reader on the northbound side of Interstate 35 in Denton at about 5:30 a.m. the morning after she disappeared.
Volunteers have since searched for any clues along Highway 380 in Denton.
Riggins' family has now enlisted the help of a Central Texas search group called Team Texas K9s.
The group will meet with Fort Worth police this week and begin to search the area for Riggins, police said.
Riggins’ family said the meeting will take place on Thursday.
The team’s canines are highly trained and certified and recently helped find Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen’s remains.
“They were instrumental in making that discovery and assisting law enforcement,” said Riggins’ sister Kimberly Haynes. “If we come to the point where remains are found we’ll deal with it and we’ll go through it but this K9 team has dogs that are trained for live detection. So they can find her alive.”
Gale Haynes said her mother previously suffered a stroke but "has all her faculties about her" and was always aware of her surroundings.
She is grateful for any help the family can get in locating her mother.
“We have gotten so many prayers and just so many people behind us and I do want to say thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. “And just continue searching.”
Anyone with any information can call Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) and remain anonymous. There’s a $5,000 reward.
NBC 5 asked Fort Worth police for an update on the investigation. The department's spokesperson said there was no update other than a volunteer search team will be out searching sometime this week.
The family has a GoFundMe account set up to help with the search. Click here for more information. There is also a Facebook page to help with the search for Riggins.
