Missing Petaluma woman found safe in San Francisco, police say

ByLena Howland KGO logo
Friday, December 16, 2022
ABC7 Bay Area 24/7 live stream

PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- A Petaluma woman with dementia who had been missing since Tuesday has been found safe in San Francisco, police said Thursday night.



Police say 68-year-old Virginia Fuquay woman had been wandering the aisles at a Target store in San Francisco for several hours.



Fuquay was transported for a medical evaluation in San Francisco and then will be brought back to Petaluma.



This is a breaking update. Previous report follows.


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Police believe that a 68-year-old Petaluma woman with dementia who has been missing since Tuesday is alive after a confirmed sighting of her in San Francisco. She remains missing.



Petaluma Police sent an image of the confirmed sighting of Virginia Fuquay at a San Francisco Wells Fargo to ABC7 News.



Petaluma Police Department


Petaluma Police have been urgently for Fuquay, who before the sighting was last seen on Tuesday afternoon wandering off from her Petaluma home on Mountain View Ave in an unknown direction. She didn't have a phone or wallet.



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Police say Fuquay has severe dementia and memory loss, and they have been concerned about her not surviving the frigid weather.



They started looking for her Tuesday night and the search continued all day Wednesday.



"There was an argument with her boyfriend right before but we've interviewed him, we've checked the house that they reside at, a different house in san Rafael, and there's nothing to indicate at this time there's foul play," Lt. Tim Lyons with Petaluma Police said.



A total of 16 tips led investigators on an exhaustive 19 hour search around Petaluma on Wednesday. The fire department checked the Petaluma River, and hundreds of flyers were plastered across the city's downtown.



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Fuquay is Filipino and described as being 5 feet tall and weighing about 90 pounds.



She was wearing a red, short-sleeved blouse and black pants as seen in surveillance pictures provided by police. She also had on orange slip on shoes.



Surveillance images and a picture of missing Virginia Fuquay provided by the Petaluma Police Department.
Surveillance images and a picture of missing Virginia Fuquay provided by the Petaluma Police Department.


If you have seen her or have information on her whereabouts, you're asked to call Petaluma Police right away at (707) 778-4372.



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