ATHABASCA – After five days of searching, the Athabasca RCMP called off the search for a missing 76-year-old woman Sunday evening after she vanished while looking for some lost cattle.
Lorraine Popowich was last seen Tuesday evening in the northwest section of Athabasca County, north of the Al-Pac mill site.
A two-mile-wide search was conducted around the spot where she was last seen, which backed onto undeveloped Crown land. The RCMP brought in a helicopter with infrared lenses to help search but were unable to find anything. Search and rescue teams from nine different communities, including Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie all took part as well. Search and rescue efforts were called off at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Volunteers from the area took part in the search and by Sunday, search and rescue coordinators were turning away volunteers due to the outpouring of support. Staff Sgt. Mark Hall said everyone was thankful for the support from the surrounding communities.
“There were quite a few volunteers out all week,” said Hall. “We appreciate the outpouring of support from the community and surrounding communities, everyone out there was working really hard. We really appreciate the good thoughts.”