Dog Returns Home Alone Four Days After Going On Walk With Elderly Woman

Lauralyn Palmer was a 71-year-old from Fall River Mills, California, a small town of roughly 270 people. Better known as Lyn, she had been married to Bob Palmer for twenty years.

Lyn had worked at the local hospital and hospice as a nurse. After retiring, she helped open the Mayers Memorial Hospital Thrift Store, where she volunteered several times a week. She was a social person and went bowling with her friends every Tuesday. Lyn also prided herself on being physically active. According to her son Dave Crotwell, “she could go on a four-mile walk and be fine.”

Family and friends believe Lyn was starting to show early signs of dementia. Dave explained,

“She still dialed me and my brother’s phone number by memory, but there were just some things that she would have to repeat or things she would not remember.”

Lyn volunteered at the thrift store on April 20, 2018. She returned home at 4:30 PM, grabbed a can of lite beer, and took Lucy for a walk.

Lucy was a Queensland heeler-type cattle dog who belonged to Lyn’s stepdaughter. They lived about twenty miles away, and Lyn and Bob were dogsitting for a few days.

Lyn took Lucy, without a leash, southeast of her home on the 23000 block of Cassel Fall River Road. She left her phone, wallet, and purse on the kitchen counter.

Lyn’s regular route took about 15 minutes. But when 25 minutes went by and they still hadn’t returned, Bob went out looking. After 45 minutes, he called the neighbors to ask if they had seen them. He also called Lyn’s brother-in-law, a local firefighter, and they drove around searching for Lyn and Lucy. With no luck, Bob called authorities at 6:30 PM.

Shasta County Sheriff’s Office’s Search and Rescue team spent several days scouring the rugged and wooded area where Lyn and Lucy were last seen. They employed Dirt Riders, Mounted Posse, Ground Team, Jeepers, Mountain Rescue, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter. No signs of the elderly woman or the dog were found.

It was around noon on April 24 when Lucy showed up at Bob and Lyn’s house. She was uninjured and in good health. Although missing for four days, Dave said she wasn’t hungry,

“They immediately brought her into the house. There was food and water for her, and she went and drank some water, but it was weird — because she didn’t eat any of the food.”

Investigators tried to get Lucy to lead them to Lyn. They took her on walks around the area where the woman had last been seen but didn’t find anything.

Family and friends continued searching for Lyn. They were able to get a tracking dog from Mendocino County, which led to a theory that Lyn had gotten into a car. Although her family doubts she would have voluntarily done so, Dave explained,

“The dog tracked her scent along her main walking route out to an abandoned trailer, then to a dirt road and then out to the main road. The scent disappeared at the main road.”

Another theory is that Lucy got spooked, and something happened to Lyn as she tried to follow the dog. According to Fall River Mills resident Felisa Westlake, Lucy was “pretty skittish.”

Authorities initially thought dementia had played a significant role in Lyn's disappearance. But after interviewing her family and friends, Shasta County Sheriff’s Sgt. Marc St. Clair said Lyn was “pretty good” functionally,

“It was mentioned that she was starting to have some issues and they were suspecting certain things, but how much it played into her being missing, it might be a smaller percentage than what we initially thought.”

Lyn’s family is struggling and desperate for answers. Dave said his mother’s husband is having a particularly rough time,

“[Bob] is a super-nice guy and always took care of my mom. He beats himself up and thinks it happened on his watch. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to live in the exact area she disappeared in.

We love her and want to find her. There are so many people in the community who want to find her.”

Lauralyn Palmer’s disappearance remains a mystery. If alive, she is now 75 years old.