Seattle Police are asking for the public's help finding a 52-year-old woman named Susan, who was last seen Saturday night heading in the direction of Lumen Field wearing a blue cardigan, blue jeans, and a Sounders sun hat, and carrying an orange jacket. Police describe Susan, a white woman standing 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, as missing and endangered, noting that she has memory issues.
The disappearance was publicized in a post from the Seattle Police Department, logged under case number 26-264828, which states that preliminary information is subject to change and that the department's social account is not actively monitored. Anyone who spots Susan is asked to call 911. The report went out the same evening the Seattle Sounders FC hosted Red Bull New York at Lumen Field for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff, according to the New York Red Bulls, which likely explains the sun hat and Susan's route toward the stadium.
MISSING Endangered: Susan 52 y/o, WF, 5’2”, 180lbs. Last seen wearing a blue cardigan, blue jeans, sounders sun hat, carrying orange jacket. Last seen heading in direction of Lumen Field. Has memory issues. If seen please call 911. #26-264828 pic.twitter.com/yH9B1oRY20
— Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) September 6, 2026
A Stadium District Packed With Foot Traffic
The timing could hardly have been more complicated for a search. Adjacent to Lumen Field, WAMU Theater hosted Korean indie band Wave to Earth that same evening, while Seattle Reign FC had a match scheduled at Lumen Field the following day, according to the venue's event calendar. That combination of overlapping events created exceptionally high foot traffic across the SoDo stadium district right as Susan went missing.
Compounding the challenge, Lumen Field sits within a major regional transit hub, adjacent to King Street Station, Pioneer Square Station, and International District/Chinatown Station, with direct connections to Sound Transit Link Light Rail, Sounder trains, and more than 15 King County Metro bus routes, per Sound Transit. That density of transit options means a disoriented person could have traveled in almost any direction from the stadium area, widening the scope of any search.
Why Police Moved Without Delay
Seattle Police Department policy explains why officers publicized Susan's case so quickly. Under Section 15.130 of the department's policy manual, officers are required to take a missing person report immediately, with no waiting period, whenever there is reasonable concern for someone's safety or a vulnerable person is involved. That mandate is separate from the state-level Endangered Missing Persons Advisory plan that the Washington State Patrol manages under RCW 13.60.050, which allows local law enforcement to broadcast rapid public advisories when a person is endangered due to a physical or mental health condition or an inability to return to safety without assistance.
Washington's Silver Alert system, created under RCW 13.60.010, relies on Department of Transportation electronic highway signs, social media bulletins, and law enforcement databases rather than pushing automatic emergency chime alerts directly to mobile phones the way AMBER Alerts do, Hoodline has previously reported. That gap is part of why public sharing and community tips carry so much weight in cases like Susan's. It remains unclear whether the Washington State Patrol has formally issued a statewide EMPA or Silver Alert on Susan's behalf, or whether surveillance footage at nearby Light Rail or Sounder stations has captured any sign of her movement.
The Stakes of Every Passing Hour
National data underscores why time matters so much in cases involving memory loss. According to the Alzheimer's Association, as cited by the MedicAlert Foundation, 6 in 10 people living with dementia or memory loss will wander at least once, and up to 50 percent of missing individuals with cognitive impairments who aren't located within 24 hours face serious injury or death. Separate research cited by At Home Healers indicates that roughly 72 percent of individuals with cognitive impairments who wander and are later found alive are located within the first 24 hours, with survival rates dropping significantly after the second day.
Statewide, these kinds of advisories are not uncommon. Washington State Patrol issued 132 Silver Alerts, 39 Endangered Missing Persons Advisories, and 13 AMBER Alerts across the state during 2025, Hoodline has reported. The state's alert system expanded further in May 2024 under House Bill E2SSB 6070, which added Purple Alerts for missing individuals with mental or developmental disabilities and Ebony Alerts for missing Black individuals, broadening the clearinghouse of tools available to help locate vulnerable residents.
Susan's case is at least the fifth missing-vulnerable-adult report Hoodline has covered in the Seattle area since early August, following recent searches for missing residents near Rainier Ave S, Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Greenwood. Whether Susan was attending Saturday's match with family or wandered away on her own is not yet known. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call 911.
