Palm Beach Gardens police are asking for the public's help finding Amber Van Kalken, a woman with a mild case of dementia who was last seen around 11:15 a.m. near St. James Drive inside the BallenIsles community. She was reported wearing a white skirt with polka dots and a pink shirt, and investigators say residents should remain vigilant and report any possible sightings as soon as possible.
According to WPBF, police urged anyone with information to contact the department immediately. The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department can be reached through its non-emergency line at 561-799-4445, and its headquarters is at 10500 North Military Trail, per Hoodline's earlier reporting on the department's operations.
A Sprawling Gated Community Complicates the Search
BallenIsles, where Van Kalken was last seen, is a 1,300-acre private residential country club development with roughly 1,575 residences spread across 32 distinct neighborhoods, according to the real estate brokerage The Wolfe Team. It includes extensive golf course terrain, walking paths, and bodies of water — the kind of layout that can quickly become disorienting for someone experiencing memory loss.
That geography matters because of how dementia-related wandering typically unfolds. Florida's Department of Elder Affairs estimates that roughly 60% of people with Alzheimer's disease wander at least once during the course of their condition, and it can happen unexpectedly even in milder stages of cognitive decline.
Why This Is a Local Alert, Not a Highway Broadcast
Florida also has a Lost on Foot effort. A State Silver Alert, by contrast, requires the missing person to be traveling in a motor vehicle with an identified license plate or vehicle description before FDLE deploys highway dynamic message signs through its Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse.
Florida's Silver Alert program started in 2008 under Gov. Charlie Crist, according to Florida Weekly. In December 2025, FDLE and Palm Beach Gardens police activated a Silver Alert for 83-year-old Sally Murphy after she went missing from Windermere Way; Boca Post reported that the alert was later canceled.
Resources for Missing Seniors
Florida Weekly has discussed memory disorder centers in connection with efforts to locate seniors who are lost on the road or on foot.
The search for Van Kalken comes just days after Palm Beach Gardens police sought public help locating another missing person, 26-year-old Carmel Rose Henschel, who was reported missing and endangered along Northlake Boulevard. Hoodline covered that separate search for a missing Riviera Beach woman earlier this month. Anyone with information on Van Kalken's whereabouts is asked to call Palm Beach Gardens police right away.
