Search for missing 79-year-old hiker to be scaled back Tuesday

PORTOLA VALLEY The ongoing search for a -year-old woman who disappeared while hiking was set to be downgraded to a limited continuous search on Tuesday at sunset the sixth day of searching according to a press release from the San Mateo County Sheriff s Office Margaret Elaine McKinley a resident of Redwood City who has dementia went missing Thursday after being separated from her family on a hike along the Lost Trail She was last seen around noon that day and she was wearing a red jacket and black pants The search will continue in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve and surrounding areas personnel disclosed The move to a limited continuous search is part of the search and rescue best practices the sheriff s office added This phase of searching involves scaled down materials compared to the initial intense search phase and will continue indefinitely or until McKinley is located I am proud of the enormous collaborative efforts by Sheriff s Office personnel and contributors along with specialized search and rescue personnel from around the state to search for Elaine disclosed Sheriff Christina Corpus in the press release Since McKinley s disappearance more than search and rescue participants have searched for her with the sheriff s department and its partner agencies officials commented During the search there have been no approved sightings of McKinley Related Articles Searchers hope cameras will help find elderly hiker in Peninsula hills Search continues for -year-old woman missing in Portola Valley preserve Body discovered in East Bay surrounded by paperwork for different people Police still don t know who he is Sheriff s deputies and dispatcher save missing child detected running on California freeway AMBER Alert pulled after San Jose girl returns home The sheriff s office and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District urge anyone to document any information about or sightings of McKinley to On Tuesday search and rescue personnel from several counties assisted San Mateo County with the search which has utilized planes dogs horses drones off-road bikes and motorcycles and mapping utility functionaries explained More than public members allowed the sheriff s office to review their prevention footage and officers have reviewed footage from more than cameras on general and private property and on hiking trails The sheriff s office is continuing to ask residents who live near the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve to check their safeguard and doorbell cameras and submit information to an online form