In a quiet country domain in rural Canterbury they searched a water race, banks and hedges to find a woman they had never met.
Sisters Amy and Emma Stephenson had already spent the morning driving around Ferrymead in Christchurch looking for Shirley Warrington, the 85-year-old grandmother who went missing 10 days ago.
If it was my nana I wouldnt be able to sleep.We need to bring her home, Amy Stephenson told Stuff.
It is believed Warrington, who gets confused but has not been diagnosed with dementia, went missing in the Ferrymead area.
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The sisters were among a number of searchers who combed the Weedons Domain in the Selwyn District on Tuesday, hoping they would be able to give the extended Warrington family some kind of resolution after a difficult wait for any news of her whereabouts.
At Weedons Domain, sisters Emma and Amy Stephenson, and Rachel Gillard-Tew, joined other searchers who continue to look for Shirley Warrington 10 days after she disappeared.
After leaving their Burwood home on Saturday, July 10, about 6pm, it is believed Warrington and her husband, Wally, drove to Burnham.
The family alerted police an hour later and an officer spoke to the couple in Rolleston before giving them directions back to Christchurch.
It appears the couple then got lost, ending up on Ferry Rd and then turning right at the Dyers Rd roundabout towards the Lyttelton tunnel about 8.30pm.
The disappearance of Christchurch woman Shirley Warrington, 85, has baffled her family and searchers.
Family believe Warrington then got out of the car in Ferrymead to seek help with directions, but did not return.
The next confirmed sighting of the car was at 10.19pm at the junction of Bridle Path and Ferry roads, then 10 minutes later in Moorhouse Ave. Warrington was not in the car and Wally was seen on Pages Rd about 8.30am, after which he drove home.
Police suspended their extensive search three days after Warrington disappeared, but the community has not given up looking. A Search for Shirley Facebook page was being used to help co-ordinate searches in the Rolleston, Ferrymead and Burwood areas.
Daughter Karen Colville was blown away by the support the Christchurch community had shown in helping to find her mother.
The latest Covid-19 lockdown in Sydney has also come as another blow, forcing her sister to stay put.
Colville said as time moved on, she had to be realistic.
Its very hard. After so long it does turn into a recovery.
The toll of waiting for news and thinking of her mum out in the cold with only thin clothing to keep her warm has been profound.
Colville dreamt over several nights that her mother was walking along a footpath, and she would wake up feeling as if she had not slept at all. She has tried to keep herself busy around home in order to fill in the hours.
Karen Colville says the wait for news of her mum has been very hard.
At Weedons Domain, Rachel Gillard-Tew took a break from work to help with the search, believing there might be a chance that Warrington ended up in the area because of local family connections.
Having seen how many people have been searching around Ferrymead, Gillard-Tew wanted to do as much as she could, particularly as her father was in the early stages of dementia.
Although unknown to each other, the group of searchers all shared the same desire to bring Warrington back to her family, Amy Stephenson said.
We just really want her to be found.
Missing woman Shirley Warrington, pictured with her granddaughter Harper Hofman.
A police spokesperson confirmed there was no update or further information on the search for Warrington, but they remained committed to locating her.
The spokesperson said police were extremely grateful for the support shown by the community and urged people to continue to get in touch with any information they think might assist, by quoting file number 210711/8724.
