BELLA VISTA — A $10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the safe return of a woman who went missing from an assisted living facility last week.
Authorities have been searching for Barbara Doyle, 74, for more than a week.
She wandered off on foot at 3 p.m. Aug. 12 from Brookfield Assisted Living Center at 3 Highlands Crossing Drive, according to a release from the Bella Vista Police Department. She left after being admitted earlier that day.
Bella Vista police issued a Silver Alert concerning Doyle.
A private donor set up the reward, which expires Sept. 12, according to the release.
Jack Doyle spent his 52nd wedding anniversary worried about his missing wife.
“It was a little surreal and I didn’t focus on it that much,” Jack Doyle said about the couple’s Aug. 16 anniversary. “I just didn’t think much about it. The main thrust was to get more information out there to help find her.”
Doyle and his two sons — Chris Doyle of Steubenville, Tenn., and Kevin Doyle of Lenexa, Kan. — have been busy making phone calls they hope will lead to finding her.
“It’s heart-breaking,” said son Chris Doyle. “I love my mom and I want her back. I can’t wait to pick her up and give her a great hug.”
Barbara Doyle has possible dementia and has been known to wander from home in the past, staying near major roads, according to Bella Vista police. Her husband is the only relative in the area and lives in a nearby neighborhood.
Jack Doyle said he dropped his wife off at the facility and hours later was informed she was missing. He said she was only going to be there three days while he was scheduled to be out of town.
Personnel from 12 agencies have searched 2.1 square miles immediately surrounding the area where she was last seen, according to a news release from the family. The search of land and water has expanded to a more than 6-mile area and includes personnel on foot, all-terrain vehicles, boats, bikes and horseback, as well as the use of dogs and drones, according to the release.
Barbara Doyle is 5 feet tall, weighs 120 pounds and was last seen wearing black jeans and a gray, short-sleeved sweater with black glasses that can hang around her neck, according to the release.
“The main thrust is to get new information out about Barbara,” Jack Doyle said. “We are hoping with the new development — the reward — leads to finding her.”
Anyone with information can contact police at (479) 855-3771.
The Police Department, in a Facebook post Thursday, asked residents not to conduct their own searches for Barbara Doyle.
“We are working hard to search in the most effective, methodical way and public interference could jeopardize these efforts,” the post stated. “In addition, we do not want anyone getting injured or lost while searching.”
The department also stated it is not affiliated in any way with the reward offered through the family by the private donor.
Silver Alert
A Silver Alert is a public notification system in the United States to broadcast information about missing persons – especially senior citizens with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other mental disabilities —to help locate them.
