An elderly woman with dementia reportedly ran ahead of her group while on a hike for her partner's birthday Thursday afternoon and has not been seen since, and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is conducting a search.
79-year-old Margaret "Elaine" McKinley was on a hike Thursday morning at Windy Hill Preserve in Portola Valley with her partner of 34 years, Kit Durgin, 81, and a couple of friends, and it was Durgin's birthday.
"We were out there kind of to celebrate [that] we can still hike and we were enjoying the wildflowers and everything, and I don't know, at about three and a half miles, Elaine just took off like an energizer bunny, which is pretty common," Durgin tells ABC 7.
The group then tried to catch up to McKinley, but they never found her.
Search efforts continue Friday to locate missing hiker w/ dementia, 79-year-old Margaret “Elaine” McKinley. Elaine was last seen in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve Thursday. More than 100 search and rescue volunteers have assisted w/ search. More info: https://t.co/xUeOXxNhoL pic.twitter.com/Ph9T6Zyc3T
— San Mateo County Sheriff's Office (@SMCSheriff) May 2, 2025
Durgin says that McKinley suffers from dementia, but the pair still remains active.
As she tells KTVU, "We enjoy a lot of things together. We dance three to four times a week, ballroom dance. We hiked the other day. We do things we like so it doesn't feel like I'm care giving."
San Mateo County Sheriff's spokesperson Gretchen Spier tells KTVU that more than 100 volunteers, along with the K-9 unit and air support, are helping with the search.
"I cry all the time because I just think about what it would be like for her to be out there in the middle of the night, wherever out there is, you know, and probably confused, and she doesn't have her phone," Durgin tells ABC 7. Still, Durgin says she is trying to remain calm and is "overwhelmed by the help the support" that people have been giving.
McKinley was last seen wearing a red jacket and black pants.
Anyone who sees McKinley is asked to call 911.
