Police say a cross-border search effort is underway for a missing Alberta senior who appears to have travelled into Saskatchewan, a trip her granddaughter says ‘doesn’t make any sense.’
Diane Cooper, 82, was reported missing on April 7 after she failed to return home to Calgary. She was seen fuelling up at a gas station in Stettler, Alta., RCMP said in a news release Friday.
Cpl. Teri-Ann Bakker, a spokesperson for Alberta RCMP, said it appears Cooper then crossed the provincial border.
“The most credible information we have right now suggests that Diane Cooper was actually in Saskatchewan,” Bakker said in an interview Monday. “Video surveillance shows her vehicle in the Hoosier area on April 6 at about 10:51 p.m.”
Hoosier, Sask., is an unincorporated hamlet about 18 kilometres from the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It is about 100 kilometres from Veteran, Alta., where Cooper was seen along Highway 12 at about 9:30 p.m. CT on April 6.
Police say Cooper was first captured on surveillance video earlier that evening in Stettler, Alta., where she stopped to fuel up her vehicle.
Her granddaughter Zoe Cooper says she had just gotten off work on April 6 when her father told her three air tags connected to her grandmother were pinging in Stettler.
Diane Cooper’s granddaughter Zoe Cooper says her family wants Diane back at home as soon as possible. (Jeffery Tram/CBC)
Zoe, 26, who also lives in Calgary, was nearer to her grandmother than her father, who lives in Lethbridge.
So, she got in a car and drove toward her.
After arriving in Stettler, she got another notification her grandmother was in Castor, Alta., so she then drove there.
“No matter how close I could get or how much I could gain on her, she kept getting further and further away,” Zoe said.
Diane Cooper was travelling with the family’s Dalmatian, Halo. (Submitted by Zoe Cooper)
Zoe says her grandmother’s last pinged location was just outside Veteran, Alta., travelling east on Highway 12.
RCMP confirmed Cooper was headed east toward Saskatchewan, which prompted them to alert detachments in the neighbouring province.
“We don’t know where she was heading,” Bakker said.
Zoe says there was no reason why her grandmother would have purposely travelled in that direction.
“She has no ties in Saskatchewan. It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
Police believe she is driving a grey Toyota C-HR XLE — a subcompact crossover — with Alberta licence plate LVA 978. She was accompanied by the family’s Dalmatian dog, Halo, who Zoe says was being minded by Cooper before she went missing.
“They love each other very much,” Zoe said. “Honestly, I’m glad they’re together.”
Growing concern for well-being
Bakker said Cooper’s disappearance is out of character.
“There’s no signs that she had packed anything or was going on a long trip,” Bakker said. “The family is concerned for her well-being, and after speaking with the family, we were concerned as well.”
Zoe says she saw her grandmother on April 2 and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“She lives alone, keeps a very good house. And, for the most part she’s still herself,” she said.
Zoe says her grandmother has mild dementia but it has not impacted her ability to live by herself up to this point.
“She just gets confused when she’s tired or overstimulated, usually later at night,” Zoe said. “But I’d say she’s about 90 per cent still herself. She’s not losing it by any means.”
Zoe says she believes Cooper became disoriented while out on a routine errand, saying police told her family that while in Stettler, officers interviewed people who noted Cooper was asking for directions back to Calgary.
“I think she just got lost,” she said. “Maybe she was on the highway and just kept going and then was like, ‘Oh my God, where am I?'”
Alberta RCMP released this image of Diane Cooper fuelling up her vehicle in Stettler, Alta., on April 6. (Albert RCMP)
RCMP detachments across both provinces — including units in Humboldt, Kindersley and Lloydminster — are helping in the search, along with air services and specialized units.
Bakker said search efforts have focused on road patrols and aerial surveillance, given Cooper is believed to still be in her vehicle.
“If she is not in her vehicle, then a ground search would begin,” Bakker said.
Bakker said tips from the public have come in from Alberta, Saskatchewan and even British Columbia, but none have been confirmed.
We miss her so much. We just want her back- Zoe Cooper
Cooper is described as five feet three inches tall, about 100 pounds, with a slim build. She has white hair, blue eyes and eyeglasses. She was last seen wearing a long, blue puffy jacket.
Officers are asking anyone who may have seen Cooper or her vehicle to contact police.
“Having the public’s assistance is such a great resource,” Bakker said. “Instead of hundreds of eyes, we now have thousands.”
Now a week after her grandmother was last seen, Zoe says her family is eager to get her grandmother back home.
“If you’re in rural Alberta or Saskatchewan, please keep an eye out,” she said. “We miss her so much. We just want her back.”
Police asked anyone with information about the missing woman to call Consort RCMP at 403-577-3001 or their local RCMP detachment. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers.