Now to the urgent search for a missing 88-year-old Dallas woman. Her family said when she didn’t show up for church, neighbors put out the alert, thinking something was wrong. NBC 5’s Vince Sims has the latest from her family and is hopeful she’ll be found safe.
Dallas police and loved ones are asking for the public's help in finding an 88-year-old woman who went missing early last week.
Myrtle Polk was last seen driving a 2004 Black Lexus ES 330 with Texas license plate BV7-K204 in the 1100 block of Indian Creek Trail on Monday, June 10.
Polk, a retired teacher and very active member of her church, is described as a pillar of her community in south Oak Cliff.
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“I think most folks would just describe her as the mom you never had,” Myrtle Polk’s son, Philip Polk, said. “I like to say she has about 40 adopted daughters as part of her church family.”
Polk's son said she was last seen on Saturday and knew something was wrong when she didn’t show up to church at the Exciting Singing Hills Baptist Church on Sunday.
“It is definitely out of character for my mom to drive anywhere at night,” Polk said. “So that was an indication we thought something might not be right.”
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Philip Polk said his mother has early-onset dementia, and he thinks that may be affecting her. However, he's he's not letting his mind wander into what-ifs.
“What we believe is that when she left home in the car, she probably had clear intentions of where she wanted to go and on the way there just got confused and disoriented, which probably led to us not being able to locate her,” Polk said.
Family and friends searched areas she was known to frequent, such as Wal-Mart parking lots, where she likes to sit and people-watch.
The family is also sharing her pictures daily on social media hoping someone will recognize her.
Polk is described as having white hair and brown eyes. She stands 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds.
“There are days when it gets hard,” Polk said. “There are days when getting up is difficult. But the people calling saying, ‘Hey have you heard anything let me know what I can do,’ that is the fuel that is necessary for us to keep going.”
Polk said that encouragement is needed because he must find his mom.
“This is the most important person in my life and we got to find her and we won’t stop until we do.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Dallas Police Department at 911 or 214-671-4268.
TEXAS STATEWIDE ALERT PROGRAMS
Eight kinds of alerts can be issued for missing or endangered people in Texas. Below are links to articles with more information about each type of alert.
- Active Shooter Alert
- AMBER Alert & Athena Alert
- Blue Alert
- Silver Alert
- CLEAR Alert
- Camo Alert (no longer operational)
- Endangered Missing Person Alert
- Power Outage Alert
