Eighteen months after 88-year-old Myrtle Polk vanished from her Dallas neighborhood, her car has been found — but she’s still missing.
Dallas police confirmed this week that Polk’s 2004 black Lexus was recovered from Five Mile Creek, near Wagon Wheels Trail and South Lancaster Road, on Nov. 4. The vehicle was found upside down in the water and pulled out by a tow truck. Polk was not inside.
Authorities said they’re renewing the search in the area. “Resources from the Dallas Police Mounted Unit and South Central Patrol, as well as private search teams, will deploy in the area to continue searching for Ms. Polk,” the department said in a statement Wednesday.
For Polk’s family, the discovery brought both relief and dread. “The family is waiting to receive any further updates,” her son, Phil Polk, told Dallas’s Fox affiliate KDFW. “Now we are focused on finding her.”
Polk was last seen on June 11, 2024, around noon, driving her Lexus in the 1100 block of Indian Creek Trail. At the time, she was in the early stages of dementia, according to her family. When she didn’t show up for Sunday church services, her friend, Charlotte Lester, went to check on her — only to find her home empty.
Phil, who lives out of state, rushed to Dallas as soon as he got the call from neighbors that his mother was missing. “I’m concerned because my mom’s 88 years old and is never out by herself this late,” he told NBC News earlier this year. “When I got to my mom’s house, there were already 10 people there. That’s when all of the madness ensued.”
Family and friends immediately began canvassing the neighborhood. They distributed flyers, organized search parties, and set up a Facebook page to share updates. For months, the trail remained cold.
The discovery of Polk’s car, nearly a year and a half later, offers the first concrete clue about what may have happened. Police have not said how long the Lexus may have been submerged in the creek, or whether foul play is suspected. The vehicle’s condition, or how it ended up in the water, has not been made public.
Polk, a retired teacher, was known in her community for her generosity and independence. Her son said that, despite her diagnosis, she continued to drive short distances and remained active in her church.
The area around Five Mile Creek has since become the center of renewed searches, with police and volunteers combing the banks and nearby wooded areas.
Anyone with information on Myrtle Polk’s whereabouts is asked to call the Dallas Police Department at 911 or (214) 671-4268.
