The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A SEARCH dog brought in to find a 75-year-old Grand Bahama woman with Alzheimer's disease has found no sign of her in the area, leading her daughter to believe someone picked her up and took her into Freeport.

Lynda Pinder, of Hunters, has been missing for almost a week. She was last seen at about 9.30am on Wednesday, September 30, walking toward Mack Town and was reported missing that day. She needs to take medication daily, and her family fears for her after so long without it.

Ms Pinder was diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago. Her daughter, Latara Laing, said this is the first time she has gone missing.

Ms Laing said the family, police and community volunteers have searched on foot and with a plane, drones and the police K9 unit. On Sunday, she said, a search team was out with another dog. The dog sniffed Ms Pinder's clothing and pillow but found nothing to suggest she is nearby.

"This is a highly trained dog," Ms Laing said, "and that dog isn't sensing her anywhere in this vicinity."

She said someone must have picked up her mother and driven her into the Freeport area, but stressed she was not suggesting her mother had been harmed. Ms Pinder may have told someone she was going somewhere, been dropped off, and ended up disoriented and lost, she said.

"Concerned is an understatement," Ms Laing said. "Depressed is an understatement."

She said her mother kept a regular routine. Each morning she had breakfast at home, then walked to a friend's convenience store about two blocks away, where she spent most of the day. She sometimes came home for water or to check on the family before going back.

Ms Laing was not at home on Wednesday morning, but her fiancé, Manassah Miller, made Ms Pinder's breakfast. When Ms Laing got home at about 5pm, her mother was not there. The children said they had not seen her, which did not alarm her at first.

She called the woman her mother usually visited to say she had made food for Ms Pinder. She became worried when the woman said they had not seen her all day. Ms Laing later learned someone had seen her mother walking past that morning but had not seen her return. The family began searching immediately.

Ms Laing praised the Royal Bahamas Police Force, who she said have been searching alongside the family "every day, all day, all through the night". She also thanked Central Grand Bahama MP Frazette Gibson, who joined the search with a group of volunteers on Saturday.

Police issued a missing persons flyer shortly after noon on Thursday. Ms Pinder, a mother of five, has a light-brown complexion and a slim build and is about 4ft 9in tall. She was wearing a pink, white and black floral dress.

Anyone who has seen her or has information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Ms Laing on 828-8885 or Mr Miller on 809-6923.