Dave Dyer sits on his porch in the middle of every night hoping his wife will appear and return home.
Wanda Dyer, 74, has been missing for almost 11 weeks.
“I spend my days with sadness and despair, and then every once in a while, the horror comes over me and I’m just frightened for Wanda,” Dave said about his wife of 46 years.
Wanda was reported missing from the Lawrence home she and Dave share on Friday, March 21. The last confirmed sighting of Wanda with photo or video evidence was that evening in Eudora.
If you see Wanda Dyer, call 911 immediately.
Other info can be reported to dispatch:
785-843-0250.
Sgt. Drew Fennelly, of the Lawrence Police Department, on Wednesday said there have been no credible sightings reported since. The department issued a silver alert on March 25.
“We know that the community push to get her information out there has been helpful because we regularly receive sighting reports, most recently as a week and a half ago, but unfortunately, none of those have panned out,” Fennelly said via email.
Dave said Wanda has dementia that suddenly worsened in the last few months before she went missing. People living with dementia can be active at nighttime, and Wanda would wake up at around 3 a.m. and do dishes and cleaning, Dave said.
She went missing for a few hours back in February, but it turned out that she was staying the night at their daughter’s house.
Wanda’s known to enjoy walking — with pace, according to Dave, who said that would tend to “fool people.”
“She’s 74,” Dave said. “They would think it was a lot younger person walking. She walks at a pretty good rate. But I don’t know what kind of mental or physical shape she’s in now.”
Police in Kansas City, where Wanda grew up, had searched for her in March around areas where she lived and went to school, and Dave said Wanda’s information is now in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Friends launched a Facebook group, “Bring Wanda home,” on March 27 to plan searches and share updates. As of Wednesday, the group had almost 2,000 members.
Searches are paused but will be reactivated if there’s a positive sighting, Dave said.
Fennelly said the missing person case is still active and LPD continues to follow leads.
Wanda is 5-foot-2 and 117 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black coat with pink lining and blue, patterned pants. She was carrying a black backpack. She usually wears a blue surgical mask when she’s out.
If you see Wanda, call 911 immediately. If you have other information about Wanda’s location, call the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250.
It’s important to approach calmly if making contact. Dave recommended trying to converse with her about books because she loves libraries and had worked at the University of Kansas’ Watson Library for 30 years.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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