Missing Bend-area woman found after two days

(Update: Missing woman found in garage by resident)

A Bend-area woman missing since she left home barefoot Tuesday night has been found in a garage on private property and is being evaluated by medics, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reported late Thursday afternoon.

Sgt. William Bailey confirmed information on a Facebook page called Bring Dawn Garcia Home that said Garcia was found around 4 p.m. Thursday in the garage of a home on Glacier View Drive, just west of her Hunnell Road home’s location. She was with deputies and was being evaluated by medics.

“Thank you to everyone who helped with the search,” the statement said.

Bailey said Garcia was found in a garage by a resident who said she had not been there when the garage last was entered three hours earlier.

The sheriff’s office said earlier Thursday it has expanded the search area for Garcia, who let her home just north of Bend Tuesday night. It also released two more photos to the public and had made automated calls to more than 1,000 area residents.

Garcia, 49, a St. Charles ER nurse, last was seen around 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 64800 block of Hunnell Road after she left her residence on foot, barefoot and without her cellphone, wallet or glasses, Bailey said.

Bailey said later Wednesday that Garcia might have been seen in the area of Deschutes Junction (Highway 97 at the Tumalo Road overpass north of Bend) about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.

As a result, the sheriff’s office asked property owners and residents to check their property and outbuildings both north and south of Tumalo Road, between Old Bend-Redmond Highway to the west and Highway 97 to the east.

“Although we cannot confirm the possible sighting was actually Ms. Garcia, we believe the information is worth sharing with the public and ask them to check their properties and outbuildings,” Bailey wrote.

Thursday morning, Bailey said the search area had expanded to areas east of Highway 97 at Deschutes Junction, including the Boonesborough subdivision and BLM lands north and east of Morrill Road.

Also, Bailey said, more than 1,000 people associated with the search area have received alerts from the Deschutes Alert System, used in evacuations, natural disasters, missing or endangered people or other emergencies. (To sign your phone number up for such alerts, visit: https://www.deschutes.org/911/page/sign-deschutes-emergency-alerts.)