HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point police scaled back their efforts in the search for 81-year-old Heddie Dawkins Thursday. Crews had been searching for her with drones, boats, ATVs, and bloodhounds since early Wednesday when she went missing, with no luck.
She has severe dementia and police think she could be hurt, so time is of the essence.
Police issued a silver alert for Ms. Dawkins on Wednesday. She went missing from her home around 1:30 a.m. Doorbell cameras have since spotted her with blood on her face and head. Police believe she may have fallen and injured herself.
"The longer this goes on, obviously, the more concerned we get, and with that injury to her face, we're not sure how severe that might be. It could be a head injury. She is bleeding, so we are interested in finding her and assisting her as quickly as possible," High Point Police Captain Patrick O'Toole said.
Ms. Dawkins' family members are worried about her too.
Dana Lee Hines, Ms. Dawkins' cousin, said they'll continue to search for her after High Point police said they are scaling back on their search efforts.
"We’re not giving up. We’re not giving up. We’re not giving up we’re continuing to look and we’re going to continue to look morning day and night."
Her oldest grandson Cory Dawkins said his grandmother has never wandered away like this before.
"I'm so scared right now for my grandma because she's by herself and she's probably scared right now, and that's scary for me because she's so strong," Cory said.
Cory said his grandmother helped raise him and is the glue that holds his family together. He said he's grateful for the tremendous effort to find her.
"She's been my mom, my provider, make sure I go to church, always praying for me and she'd probably tell me now I'm gonna be alright, so I'm just - she's so much, so I'm just praying that we're gonna find her," he said.
Ms. Dawkins has been seen on Clover Wood Drive and on Blockhouse Court near Penny Road. She was wearing blue pajamas and slippers.
Police said they're going to search as long as it takes to bring her home.
If you drive down Penny Road, you'll see dozens of flyers posted of Dawkins.
If you have doorbell video that can help police find her, please contact the non-emergency line at 336-883-3224.
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