Plano Police are searching for Brooke Sanders, a 20-year-old resident reported missing by her caretakers Wednesday from the 3200 block of Dartmouth Drive. Investigators say Sanders was later dropped off in the 3200 block of Lackland Drive in West Fort Worth, a location roughly 50 miles from where she was last seen at home. She has diminished mental capacity and other mental health diagnoses, has no cell phone, and does not drive.
A Vulnerable Woman Far From Home
According to the Plano Police Department’s post on X, Sanders is described as 5 feet 1 inch tall and about 110 pounds, with light brown hair. Witnesses told Plano Police that she was last seen wearing a white spaghetti strap shirt, white shorts, and clear-framed eyeglasses. The department is treating the case as a critical missing person investigation, logged under incident number 2026-181982.
Investigators say Sanders was able to get a ride to West Fort Worth, though the department’s public appeal does not identify who provided that transportation or how the arrangement came about. The roughly 50-to-53-mile trip between the two addresses, spanning Collin and Tarrant counties, would typically take 50 to 60 minutes by car, according to MapSof.net. That distance places the search across two separate police jurisdictions, complicating efforts to retrace her movements.
How Texas Escalates Cases Like This
Cases involving a missing person with an intellectual or developmental disability can qualify for the state’s Endangered Missing Persons Alert, a designation reserved for disappearances that pose a credible threat to the person’s health and safety, per the Texas Department of Public Safety. State rules require local agencies to request that alert within 72 hours of the disappearance, and any activation stays live for 24 hours unless renewed. A separate tool, the CLEAR Alert, created by the Texas Legislature in 2019, covers missing or abducted adults ages 18 to 64 facing immediate danger who don’t meet AMBER or Silver Alert criteria, according to WFAA.
Plano Police Department Administrative Directive 111.002 requires officers to enter missing person details into regional and national databases within 48 hours and to coordinate with the department’s Real Time Information Center. The scale of the challenge is significant: Texas agencies logged 49,110 reported missing adults and juveniles statewide in 2020, per Texas Department of Public Safety data cited by WFAA, underscoring why state alert criteria exist to elevate only the highest-risk cases.
How to Help
Anyone who sees Brooke Sanders or has information about her location is asked to call 911 immediately. Tips can also be submitted to Plano Police at 972-941-2148 or by texting TIP411 to 847411, or through the department’s non-emergency line at 972-424-5678.
A Pattern of Public Appeals in Plano
According to Hoodline, his is not the first time Plano Police have turned to public alerts to find a vulnerable resident. In a March 2024 case, the department located Alzheimer’s patient Audrey Newsome, who had no cell phone, after a citizen recognized her from a social media post and called 911. A month later, police sought help finding 43-year-old Heather Brown after she vanished from her home in the 3800 block of Pebblecreek Court. In January 2025, investigators issued an urgent appeal for 25-year-old Budd Riley Milliken, who had been out of contact with family for over a month amid harsh winter weather. It is unknown whether a state Endangered Missing Persons Alert or CLEAR Alert has been formally requested in Sanders’ case.
