Missing
Sheila Ann Lopes
Lopes, approximately 2008
Date and time person was reported missing : 08/28/2008
Missing location (approx) :
Escondido, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 10/16/1936 (84)
Age at the time of disappearance: 71 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6, 135 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A gray cotton two-piece sweatsuit, a long-sleeved zippered teal-green shirt and matching pants, white canvas slip-on deck shoes, a gold bEthnicity : let on each wrist, a diamond wedding band, and a black pearl ring on her left hand.
Medical conditions : Lopes suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and is considered a dependent adult as a result. She'd been having symptoms of the illness for about five years by 2008. She is mostly lucid, however, and she's in good health physically.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Gray hair, blue eyes. Lopes has scars on both ears and a Cesarean section scar on her abdomen. She smokes cigarettes. She is originally from London, England and speaks with a slight British accent.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Lopes disappeared from her home in the 2100 block of Woodland Heights Glen in the 481-acre gated community of Emerald Heights in Escondido, California on August 28, 2008. Her husband saw her at home at about midnight.
At 10:30 a.m., she wandered into a home where her son used to live, about a twenty-minute walk away, and the new owner told her to leave. The owner called the police that afternoon, after she realized Lopes was missing. She has never been heard from again.
Lopes's niece's puppy was found on a nearby hill after Lopes vanished. It's possible she was taking the puppy for a walk early in the morning and got lost. She had wandered away from home before, but never for longer for several hours at a time. Her family planned to buy her a tracking device to wear, but she disappeared before they could get one. She is thought to have left on foot, as she has no access to a vehicle.
An extensive search of the neighborhood turned up no sign of her. The Emerald Heights community has security cameras at the only entrance gate, but the cameras didn't film her leaving. Her case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Escondido Police Department
760-839-4719
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
The North County Times
San Diego 6
NBC San Diego
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Escondido Police Department
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
