McGinnis Meadows resident reported missing

A 74-year-old woman from the McGinnis Meadows area has been reported missing after failing to return home from a trip to Kalispell last Tuesday.

Joan Wallace was last seen at a doctor's appointment on May 9. Family members said Wallace also stopped Tuesday afternoon at the Kalispell Albertsons grocery store where her daughter-in-law, Debbie Wallace, works.

Family members reported her missing on Wednesday.

Searchers, who included volunteers from David Thompson Search and Rescue and U.S. Forest Service employees, combed the area between McGinnis Meadows and Kalispell but found no sign of Wallace or her vehicle, said Lt. Roby Bowe of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

"All the roads have been searched," Bowe said. "A private helicopter was up looking for her."

Wallace is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 155 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

She was driving a beige 1986 Nissan pickup with Montana handicapped license-plate number 14716. A small brown dog wearing a rabies tag with the number 22812 was in the vehicle with her. It belongs to friends of Wallace; she was caring for the animal while the friends were out of the area, according to her granddaughter-in-law, Mariea Wallace.

According to the sheriff's office, Wallace relies on prescribed medication for health problems and walks with the help of a cane.

Anyone with information that may help locate Wallace is asked to call Bowe at the sheriff's office at 293-4112.