‘We are running out of time’: Coquitlam woman with dementia still missing

The Coquitlam RCMP and search and rescue members are asking the public for help in finding missing woman Lifang Cheng.

Officials are racing to find the 69-year-old woman, who was reported missing on Monday, July 10.

Corp. Alexa Hodgins says Cheng, who has dementia, was last seen in the area of Harper Road and Mitchell Street just before 9 a.m.

“We are requesting anyone who lives in this area to check their sheds, their backyards, the common spaces of their buildings or in and around their complexes, to see if they have any signs of her,” Hodgins said Thursday.

“We are very concerned, the family is very concerned, we are running out of time. This is a very high terrain, the brush and forest here is very thick and given her age and medical status, time is of the essence.”

Corp. Alexa Hodgins speaks to media in Coquitlam on Thursday July 13, 2023 about the search for Lifang Cheng. (CityNews Image)

Cheng is described as an Asian woman with brown eyes, and grey and black hair that is medium length. She is 5’5″ tall and weighs about 130 lbs.

Hodgins says the woman was last seen wearing a black jumpsuit, grey running shoes, glasses, and a “distinctive” straw hat, which may have fallen off her at some point.

Officials have been scouring the area and nearby trails and forests on Burke Mountain to no avail. Coquitlam Search and Rescue manager Don Seki says crews responded with 22 members the afternoon Cheng was reported missing.

SAR volunteers from surrounding jurisdictions also came in to help, as did police K9 units.

“We covered as many construction sites as possible, as well as various wilderness areas within the neighbourhood,” Seki explained, noting teams have been conducting searches every day this week.

“Air One, which is the RCMP helicopter, did a flyover and also searched open areas that they could see through the canopy of the forests.”

Seki says the search by search and rescue crews has been suspended, as of Thursday afternoon, as they await further direction from the RCMP.

Hodgins says crews have also been door knocking in the neighbourhood to raise awareness of Cheng’s disappearance.

“We would like the public to look at the photos, look at the surveillance image that we have from her last reported sighting, which is in this area which is mixed residential, as well as forest, and to contact our investigators if they have any information,” Hodgins added.

Coquitlam RCMP display photos of missing woman Lifang Cheng on Thursday July 13, 2023. (CityNews Image)

She says the RCMP is aware of “numerous video stills and sightings” believed to be Cheng “that have been reported online.”

“Some of these reports have already been provided to our investigators but we would like anyone who hasn’t talk to a police officer and may have video footage to contact our officers. We want to follow up on the most up-to-date information and any information and video evidence that is provided from the public will be followed up immediately by our investigators,” she explained.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about Cheng’s whereabouts to contact the RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2023-18227.