RCMP focus search in Saskatchewan for missing Alberta senior

RCMP say the Saskatchewan side of the Alberta boundary remains the focus of the search for an Alberta woman who has been missing for nearly two weeks.

RCMP say the Saskatchewan side of the Alberta boundary remains the focus of the search for an 82‑year‑old Alberta woman who has been missing for nearly two weeks.

Police say Diane Cooper was last seen driving through west‑central Saskatchewan with her Dalmatian dog, Halo.

Cooper was reported missing to Consort RCMP on April 7 after she failed to arrive at her destination.

Police say she left Calgary the afternoon of April 6 and was last confirmed driving east through the Hoosier, Sask., area later that night.

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RCMP believe Cooper may be disoriented and are concerned for her well‑being.

“That’s my greatest theory, I guess, is just that she got really confused when she was driving, and the dementia gets worse the more tired she gets. So, I’m thinking that she just hasn’t slept well, so she hasn’t found her way home,” Cooper’s granddaughter Zoe Cooper said.

“There’s been lots of great tips on Facebook, both from Alberta and Saskatchewan. Lots of people are out there looking and helping.”

She is believed to be travelling with her dog in a grey Toyota C‑HR XLE with Alberta licence plate LVA978.

Police say they have conducted extensive searches across Alberta and Saskatchewan, including highway patrols, air service flights and follow‑ups on numerous tips from the public, but none of those tips have been substantiated.

Surveillance footage reviewed by RCMP shows Cooper fueling her vehicle in Stettler, Alta., before continuing east. Additional footage from a Saskatchewan business later confirmed her vehicle near Hoosier around 11 p.m. on April 6.

She is described as 100 pounds, five feet one inch tall, with blue eyes, white hair, and a slim build with eyeglasses.

Anyone who sees Cooper, her vehicle or her dog is asked not to approach her, but to contact police immediately.