PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif. – The search for a missing 79-year-old hiker, in a Peninsula open-space preserve, has entered its sixth day on Tuesday. Sheriff’s officials say the search effort has shifted to a limited phase.
Scaling back
What we know: — Elaine McKinley became separated from a group of hikers last Thursday while they were at Portola Valley’s Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. McKinley suffers from dementia.
Officials with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said on day six of the search, that while the search continues, at sunset, the search transitions to a “limited continuous search phase.”
The decision was made in accordance with best practice regarding search and rescue efforts, the sheriff’s office said. They explained the phase means the search continues “indefinitely or until the missing person is located, but with resources that are scaled down compared to the initial, more intense phase.” …