2 days ago
Police have grave concerns for missing 79-year-old Christchurch woman
Police have grave concerns for missing Christchurch woman Elisabeth Nicholls.
The 79-year-old, who suffers from dementia, disappeared after walking out of the Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village on Bartlett Street in Riccarton last Wednesday night.
The last confirmed sighting of her was at the Chateau on the Park in Riccarton at 7.54pm on Wednesday 4 June.
Searchers and police had gone door to door, reviewed CCTV footage and made extensive enquiries, but were not been able to find her.
Elisabeth Nicholls, 79, has been missing since 4 June after walking out of the Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village in Riccarton.
Photo:
Supplied / NZ Police
Elisabeth was wearing navy blue jeans, a black and grey checked long-sleeved shirt with a long-sleeved maroon top underneath and black leather shoes and she has distinctive long blond/white hair.
She had been admitted to the facility for respite care on the same day that she disappeared.
Detective Sergeant Lucy Aldridge has urged anyone in Riccarton and the wider area to review any CCTV footage and check places where she might have taken refuge.
She said Lis's family had requested privacy but her husband of nearly 60 years, Gary Nicholls, provided a statement.
He described his wife as "an adored wife, mother, grandmother, friend and colleague" whose life had been "about helping people, through nursing, Plunket and social work".
"We are deeply concerned and have been living with painful uncertainty for a week, but we have been grateful for the love and support that has been shown for Lis," he said.
Nicholls expressed gratitude to the police, search and rescue teams, Canterbury University students and Victoria Neighbourhood Association who had helped look for his wife.
"You have been working in the cold, the rain, and the darkness to bring Lis home to us, and we are incredibly grateful."
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