It’s been more than a year since Myrtle Polk vanished from her Dallas, Texas, neighborhood.
According to the Dallas Police Department, the 88-year-old was last seen “driving a 2004 Black Lexus ES 330 TX LP BV7-K204 in the 1100 block of Indian Creek Trail.”
Earlier this year, Myrtle’s son, Philip Polk, told Dateline the last time anyone communicated with her was on the evening of Saturday, June 8, 2024. On Sunday, she missed church, which was out of character for her. Philip thinks his mother may have gotten lost on her way to church that morning. “The only thing I can think is that she was on her way to church, which is about a five-minute drive from her home, down one street. And missed her turn and continued to drive and just got confused,” he said.
Myrtle was reported missing the next day.
For more than a year, the search for Myrtle continued without success. But earlier this week, Dallas police got a lead.
On November 4, a car was recovered “in the 5600 block of south Lancaster Road.”It was Myrtle Polk’s car. According to the Dallas Police Department, “resources from the Dallas Police Mounted Unit and South Central Patrol, as well as private search teams will deploy in the area to continue searching for Ms. Polk.” Dateline sent a list of questions to the police department about the discovery of Myrtle’s car and the investigation and was directed to their online press release.
Philip told Dateline via text message that seeing the recovery of his mother’s car was tough. “I remember driving across the state with her in that car and the times and talks we have in that car,” he wrote. “As hard as it was to see, I’m thankful she wasn’t in it.”
He’s also thankful for a new lead to follow. “On behalf of the Polk family, we say today has been a long time coming, but we are thankful that a significant lead has been identified,” Philip wrote. “We know the search isn’t over until we find my mother.”
Philip says his family’s hope has not wavered over the last year. “We are thankful that the search team, my mom’s Singing Hills Baptist Church family, the Oak Cliff Community and her village have not given up hope either,” he wrote. “It’s always taken a village to care for one another, and this challenge is no different.”
“The search continues,” he stated. Myrtle is around 5’3” and 130 lbs., with short silver-white hair and brown eyes. She has a mole on the side of her nose.
If you have any information about Myrtle Polk’s disappearance, please contact the Dallas Police Department at (214) 671-4268.
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