GuyfromCanada
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Search Continues Saturday in Portola Valley for Missing Hiker, 150 Search and Rescue Personnel Assisting, Sheriff’s Office Asks Residents to Review Cameras
The search and rescue operation continues Saturday in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve to locate missing hiker, 79-year-old Margaret “Elaine” McKinley, who was last seen in the preserve on Thursday hiking the Lost Trail. Elaine has dementia and was wearing a red jacket and black pants at the time she was reported missing.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is asking all residents who live near the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve to check their cameras starting on Thursday, May 1 at 10 a.m. and to report this information though an online form: https://bit.ly/camera-assistance-request. Any sightings, or lack of sightings on camera footage will help aid in the search. If you see Elaine on your cameras, please call 911 immediately in addition to filling out the form.
Through grid searches of the 1400 acre preserve, approximately 150 specially trained search and rescue volunteers from across the region are aiding in the search Saturday. With additional personnel, the search area has expanded to include areas west of the preserve.
Through a Mutual Aid Request, search and rescue personnel from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin and Sonoma Counties are assisting San Mateo County with the search.
As we’ve reached the 48-hour mark since Elaine was reported missing, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and partners have deployed extensive resources to assist the search including: the Sheriff’s Office airplane, drones, K-9s including the Sheriff’s Office new tracking and trailing Bloodhound, horses, bicycles, off-road motorcycles and more.
On Friday afternoon, CAL OES deployed its Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System Program (FIRIS) plane to aid in the search. The specialized plane flew over the preserve and search area for hours, along with the Sheriff’s Office airplane.
Unfortunately, no sightings were reported.
Residents and visitors should expect an increased law enforcement presence in and around the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. The parking lot off of Portola Road remains closed to the public. The preserve remains open to the public and can be accessed through entrances off of Skyline Boulevard.
Anyone with sightings or information is asked to please call 911. The Sheriff’s Office will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Background information: On Thursday, May 1, 2025, at around 2 p.m., Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District alerted the Sheriff’s Office of a missing hiker and requested assistance in search and rescue efforts. The missing hiker, 79-year-old Margaret “Elaine” McKinley of Redwood City, who has dementia, became separated from her family while hiking and was last seen around 12 p.m. Thursday wearing a red jacket and black pants walking along the Lost Trail. (Elaine is pictured in the clothing she was last seen wearing.)
McKinley went missing during a hike celebrating Durgin's 81st birthday. McKinley has Alzheimer's and is nearly 80 years old herself.
Durgin said it's common for McKinley to go ahead during hikes, but when she did Thursday while hiking along the Lost Trail, she got lost herself.
More at Volunteers aid search for missing 79-year-old San Mateo Co. woman with Alzheimer's
