Appeal for help in finding visually impaired PE woman

UPDATE: Kathleen Flanagan has been found.

Port Elizabeth residents are forming a search party to find Kathleen Flanagan, after posts of the missing woman went viral on Wednesday.

While police have confirmed a missing persons case has been opened at the Walmer police station, family and friends of the 34-year-old have actively begun searching for the visually impaired woman.

Flanagan’s distraught mother, Gerda, told HeraldLIVE that her daughter was last seen leaving her place of employment in Pickering Street on Tuesday at about 3pm.

She was wearing a black coat, black trousers and a red beanie at the time.

Gerda said while no-one knew her daughter’s whereabouts, someone had contacted her to say that she had seen someone matching Kathleen’s description in Newton Park.

“The person said they had seen [Kathleen] step off a curb and looked disorientated,” Flanagan said.

According to Flanagan, Kathleen had returned home to her flatlet in Walmer and had left without informing anyone where she was going.

“Kathleen has been going through a lot of stress lately, especially over the past two years when her eyesight diminished to 10%,” Flanagan said.

Kathleen allegedly informed her brother not to fetch her from work today as she sometimes worked from home.

Since losing most of her eyesight, Flanagan said her daughter had become very distraught and was on anti-depressants.

Kathleen’s laptop bag, handbag and cellphone were found at her home while her grey peak cap and running takkies were the only items missing, Flanagan said.

Kathleen has a pale completion, pale blue eyes and long black hair. She is approximately 170cm (5ft 7in) tall and has a tattoo of a curl and a heart on her left wrist.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed police were investigating the matter.

Anyone who can assist police in tracing Kathleen or may know her whereabouts is asked to contact Capt Aveen Singh at SAPS Walmer on 079-420-3966 or 041-509-4006 or Crime Stop 08600-10111 or their nearest police station.