Fort Bragg woman missing after Mendocino County mushroom-picking trip

A search is underway for a Fort Bragg woman who disappeared Wednesday while picking mushrooms in thick timber along a road that parallels the Eel River.

Mary Ann Dow, 58, was with a nephew near mile marker 7.6 of Branscomb Road about 3:30 p.m. when they agreed to separate, according to a Mendocino County Sheriff’s report released Friday.

Dow failed to show up at their vehicle later in the afternoon, as scheduled, according to sheriff’s officials, who received the missing person’s report Wednesday night.

Mendocino County search and rescue teams combed the area on Thanksgiving, but were unable to locate Dow, a petite woman with reddish-gray hair, officials said. On Friday, rescue teams from Lake, Marin, Napa and San Mateo counties joined the search, along with dogs from the California Rescue Dog Association.

Dow is described as about ?4 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 115 pounds. She was wearing blue jeans, a gray, hooded sweatshirt and hiking boots. She recently had a surgical procedure that may render her unable to speak, sheriff’s officials said. Anyone seeing a woman matching the description should approach her because she may not be able to call out for help, officials said.

Anyone with information about the missing woman is asked to phone sheriff’s dispatch, 707-463-4086.