78-Year-Old With Alzheimer's Vanishes Near Greenwood, Chihuahua In Tow

A 78-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease was last seen walking on foot near 600 NW 85th Street in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood around 2:30 p.m. Monday, and she may be accompanied by a small chihuahua. Police say she was heading in an unknown direction and are asking anyone who spots her to call 911 immediately.

The Seattle Police Department shared the alert for the woman, who was reported missing from the 600 block of NW 85th Street, a stretch that sits along the commercial and residential boundary between Greenwood and Crown Hill, according to Seattle Transit Blog. The corridor is served by King County Metro bus routes including Route 5 and Route 28, meaning she could have traveled well beyond the immediate block on foot or by bus. Police have not said which direction she went or whether she may have boarded a bus.

Why Every Hour Matters

Cases involving missing seniors with dementia carry a narrow window for a safe recovery. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that roughly 60% of people living with dementia will wander away from familiar surroundings at least once, and state legislative findings cited by the organization show that up to half of wandering seniors who remain missing for more than 24 hours suffer serious injury or death. The same research notes that wandering is often driven by disorientation, restlessness, or an urge to “go home” or complete a routine from the past, which is why caregivers are advised to keep a recent photo and a list of former workplaces or old addresses on hand for police.

Alzheimer's disease is not a rare diagnosis in this corner of King County. Data from the Alzheimer's Association reported by Stacker shows that 10.8% of King County residents 65 and older, about 33,500 people, live with the disease, ranking the county fourth among Washington's 39 counties for senior Alzheimer's prevalence. Aging & Disability Services for Seattle & King County has said Alzheimer's is the third leading cause of death in both the state and the county, trailing only heart disease and cancer.

How Washington's Alert System Works

Washington created its Silver Alert system in 2015 under RCW 13.60.010, giving law enforcement the authority to broadcast emergency notifications through highway reader boards and media outlets when a person 60 or older with Alzheimer's, dementia, or another cognitive impairment goes missing and is believed to be in danger, per KING 5. The Washington State Patrol's Missing Children and Endangered Person Clearinghouse oversees several distinct designations under that same statute, including Silver Alerts, Endangered Missing Person Advisories, and Missing Indigenous Person Alerts, according to a report from 610 KONA. It is not yet known whether a formal Silver Alert has been requested for this case through the state patrol.

Unlike AMBER Alerts, which automatically push emergency wireless alerts to mobile phones and interrupt television and radio broadcasts, Silver Alerts in Washington primarily rely on electronic highway reader boards and social media unless residents specifically opt in to direct notifications, the KING 5 report notes. The state patrol issued 132 Silver Alerts statewide last year, compared with 39 Endangered Missing Persons Advisories and just 13 AMBER Alerts, reflecting how much more frequently older residents go missing than children in Washington.

Federal standards and Washington State Patrol guidelines also make clear that police cannot impose any waiting period, such as 24 or 48 hours, before accepting a missing person report or launching an investigation into an endangered adult. That means the search for the Greenwood woman began as soon as she was reported missing, without delay.

A String of Recent Missing Person Alerts

This is at least the fourth missing person alert Hoodline has covered in King County so far this month. Seattle Police issued a similar advisory this month for a Capitol Hill woman unable to find her way home, while the King County Sheriff's Office searched for and eventually located a 72-year-old Burien man reported missing under a Silver Alert earlier this month. A Kent man remains the subject of a statewide alert issued in the middle of the month, and Seattle Police also sought public help finding a 13-year-old girl last seen in Queen Anne earlier in August.

Police have not released the missing woman's name or a description beyond her age and the possibility that she is traveling with a small chihuahua. Whether she or the dog have been located remains unknown as of this writing, and Hoodline will update this story as police release more information.