PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Authorities are searching for a McMinnville woman who was reported missing in early August and may have been lost in the wilderness, Myrtle Creek Police Department announced Tuesday.
According to police, 69-year-old Kathleen Wilson was reported to have been on her way to visit a friend in Chiloquin and ended up staying in the Millsite RV Park for a short time.
During the investigation, authorities learned Wilson left Myrtle Creek shortly after 6 a.m. Aug. 5. Her car – a red Chevy Cruz with license plate number 747EDB – was last seen passing through the Dry Creek area on Highway 138 East around 7:30 a.m.
The Myrtle Creek Police Department, with help from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Forest Service Law Enforcement, and several firefighting crews conducted an extensive search in the last week but never found her or the car.
During the search, OSP flew a plane over the area, but wildfire smoke made the search from the air impossible, authorities said.