Missing SF woman with Alzheimer’s found safe after search

Mary Dykhuizen, 75, was found safe at a business on Owens Street after San Francisco officers launched a missing-person search from the 1300 block of Stanyan Street, where she was last seen leaving her home on Thursday, June 18. Police said the case involved UCSF Police Department and Marin SAR before Dykhuizen was located and reunited with her family after medical treatment.

San Francisco police posted the public alert Friday, June 19, at 4:30 p.m. and described Dykhuizen as a white woman, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 135 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. Officers said she was considered at risk because of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that can make people wander away from home or caregivers.

That risk is not abstract. The National Institute on Aging says many people with Alzheimer’s disease wander, and the Alzheimer’s Association warns that wandering can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. In dense neighborhoods like the Haight and across the city’s transit corridors, a missing person can move quickly from a local concern to a broader public safety search.

The recovery in this case showed how much depends on speed and coordination. UCSF Police Department says it works with agencies across San Francisco and neighboring communities, and Marin SAR, a division of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, searches for missing people in wilderness and urban settings. Together, those overlapping resources helped bring the search to a safe ending.

SFPD says most missing-person cases are solved within a few days or weeks, a reminder for San Francisco caregivers that the first hours matter. Families caring for someone with dementia should keep recent photos, physical descriptions, and emergency contact information ready, and they should move immediately if a loved one does not return home as expected. In a city where a person can cross several neighborhoods in a short time, a fast alert can make the difference between a public search and a safe reunion.