Days after being reported missing, search in the area around home yields no results, and police have no leads to find elderly dementia patient

Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd continues to ask the public for their help by providing any kind of leads that might develop information into the whereabouts of 83-year-old Barbara McCray, an elderly woman with dementia who was last seen on the evening of July 31.

Search efforts in a two-mile area around her home on Dug Down Mountain in southern Polk County were suspended indefinitely after volunteers and officials spent three days in rough terrain looking for McCray.

“We continue to look for new information as to where she could possibly be,” Dodd said this afternoon. “Anyone with the information should call the police department or the 911 center with that information.”

McCray was last seen in a pink shirt, gray shorts, and gray Nike sneakers.

The search for McCray began on Sunday, August 1 after she was reported missing and hundreds of volunteers gathered at Dugdown Baptist Church during the afternoon to fan out and help seek out the 83-year-old woman who was last seen the previous evening around 6 p.m.

Since then, a combination of aerial efforts from Georgia State Patrol and DNR, a drone from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, search and rescue experts from around the area and southeast, and personnel with K-9s, on four-wheelers and even Norfolk Southern joined in the search. No sign of McCray was found.

Anyone with information about where she might be is encouraged to immediately call 911 with any tips that can yield a positive result, and ask for PCPD Detective Caleb Bowman, lead investigator on the missing person case. Anyone with information outside of Polk County is also encouraged to contact Detective Bowman (#810), who can be reached directly at (678) 246-5107.

McCray, who was the subject of hopes and prayers during the Polk County Commission meeting by all of the Commissioners, is remembered by Commissioner Gary Martin from many years ago.

“I knew Barbara a long time ago when she had a restaurant down on West Avenue,” Martin said. “My prayers go out to them.”

He along with other commissioners – including Scotty Tillery and Ray Carter, who were out with volunteers helping with efforts on Sunday afternoon during the opening day of the search – also offered thanks.

Carter said he’s well acquainted with the family and offered his prayers during comments on Tuesday night, hoping they might find closure. He also implored the county to learn from the efforts undertaken and take additional measures to ensure that Emergency Management has the resources they need during situations where right now, the county is lacking. Commissioners Linda Liles, Chuck Thaxton, and Chair Hal Floyd also echoed those hopes and prayers for McCray to be found safely.

Tillery reiterated his Monday night comments that he was hoping for a positive outcome to search efforts as well, and was thankful for the volunteers who took part and everyone who lent resources.

That includes Chick-fil-A of Rockmart, who the county commended for their donation of 80 sandwiches and bags of chips for officials to eat for lunch during their search efforts on Tuesday, August 3.

The Polk County Police also extended their thanks to the congregation of Dugdown Baptist Church for allowing first responders and search parties to utilize the church’s parking lot and fellowship hall as their central command post during the three-day search.

Dodd said, “the search would not have been as successful as possible without their hospitality and letting us use their church as a command post.”

With localized search efforts suspended, the Polk County Police are now relying on investigators and tips from the public to help discover her whereabouts, which at this point could be anywhere.