Richland County deputies are asking for the public's help finding Brenda Tobin, a 75-year-old woman who was last seen leaving her home on Kentucky Street in the Olympia area. Tobin was recently diagnosed with dementia, and her whereabouts are currently unknown.
According to WLTX, the Richland County Sheriff's Department is actively searching for Tobin and has requested public assistance in locating her. Tobin's family has told the station they are concerned about her health given her recent dementia diagnosis, underscoring the urgency behind the search.
Deputies describe Tobin as a Black woman with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She stands approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs around 170 pounds, per the same report. No further details about her clothing or a possible vehicle have been released.
How to Help Find Brenda Tobin
Anyone with information about Tobin's location is asked to call 911 or reach the Richland County Sheriff's Department directly at 803-576-3000. Authorities have not indicated how long Tobin has been missing or where searchers believe she may have gone since leaving her Kentucky Street home.
Cases involving missing adults with dementia are treated with particular urgency because of the heightened risk of harm when someone with cognitive impairment wanders from a familiar setting. South Carolina maintains a statewide Endangered Person Notification System, which the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says exists to rapidly share information about missing people believed to be suffering from dementia or another cognitive impairment. It is not known whether such an alert has been issued in Tobin's case.
Other Richland County Searches
This is not the only time the Richland County Sheriff's Department has turned to the public for help locating a missing woman. Earlier this year, the department shared an updated photo and vehicle footage as it continued another search, according to WIS-TV. In a separate case, SLED issued an Endangered Person Alert on behalf of the sheriff's department, as reported by The State. Neither of those cases is connected to Tobin's disappearance.
No new information has been released about Tobin's condition or location since deputies first announced the search. Family members and investigators continue to urge anyone who may have seen her to come forward.
