A 61-year-old Baltimore County woman with Alzheimer's disease has been missing for five days without solid leads, and her family says she left home in Gwynn Oak without the one device meant to help find her fast. Michele Thompson did not have her tracking pendant on the day she went missing, and she is also without her necessary medicine.
Thompson was last seen Sunday after she wanted to go on a walk and her aunt tried to stop her, according to her daughter Olivia, as reported by CBS News. Baltimore County Police issued a Silver Alert for Thompson, who is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white hat, colorful shirt, and oversized jeans. Olivia described her mother as a survivor and said she believes Michele is out there and okay, but wants her mother home.
Community members have joined the search, and Thompson's family has been putting up fliers in surrounding areas while searching all day and night, the outlet's report notes. She was seen in the area at least once, but has not been in contact or returned home, and no solid leads have emerged since Sunday.
A Familiar Triangle of Streets
Thompson's family believes she has stayed within the triangle formed by Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore National Pike and Gwynn Oak, according to CBS News.
Olivia said people who spot her mother should keep talking to her, use references to taking her to school to get her attention, and call police. Anyone who sees Thompson is asked to call 911 or 443-228-3106, per the same account.
Not the First Time She Has Wandered
This is not the first time Thompson has gone missing under similar circumstances. A Facebook post linked below references Michele Thompson and a Silver Alert, but the available post does not provide details about the circumstances, according to a Facebook post.
Baltimore County Police expanded its free Project Lifesaver program in April 2024, issuing wearable radio transmitter devices to residents with Alzheimer's or dementia to help reduce search times by up to 95 percent, the department said in a video posted to Facebook. Thompson's family says she was not wearing that pendant when she disappeared this time, stripping searchers of the very tool designed for cases like hers.
Why Every Hour Counts
Maryland operates a statewide Silver Alert Program under Public Safety Code § 3-604, established in October 2009, coordinating local law enforcement, Maryland State Police, and highway dynamic messaging signs to track missing adults with cognitive impairments whose disappearance poses a credible safety threat. Under Maryland missing person guidelines, local agencies accept reports immediately without any mandatory waiting period whenever a vulnerable adult or person with cognitive impairment is involved, a factor that let Baltimore County Police activate search protocols without delay, as previously reported by Hoodline.
The Alzheimer's Association reports that six in ten people living with dementia will wander away from home at least once during the course of their disease, and many do so repeatedly. Public health data highlighted by the same association shows that up to 50 percent of missing individuals with dementia who are not located within 24 hours face serious physical injury or death, a grim marker Thompson has now passed several times over as she nears a week without her medicine. An estimated 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's dementia in 2025, a figure researchers cited in a study published by PMC project will climb to 13.8 million by 2060.
National Attention Joins the Search
The nonprofit Black and Missing Foundation describes its mission as bringing media and public attention to missing minority individuals. The organization also provides a way to submit tips, per the Black and Missing Foundation.
Olivia said she is trying to stay optimistic and keep looking for her mother. For now, the family is left waiting on tips, watching the same stretch of streets, and hoping someone in the Liberty Heights, Baltimore National Pike, and Gwynn Oak triangle recognizes the woman in the white hat and colorful shirt before another day passes.
