BELFAST, Maine -- Police are 'at a loss' to explain the disappearance of an elderly woman who was last seen entering a department store last Friday but never seen leaving, authorities said Monday.
Virginia C. Douglas, 69, of Lexington, Mass., walked into Renys department store last Friday at 5:30 p.m. and never came out, said Police Chief Robert Keating.
Her husband, Frank E. Douglas, 70, said he was waiting in their car outside while his wife went in to use the rest room and shop briefly.
'I saw her step up on the walkway, heading into the store, and that's the last I've seen of her,' Douglas said. 'I have no idea what's going on.'
The vacationing Douglases were on their way to Bar Harbor when they stopped at the shopping plaza, Keating said.
No one in the shopping center has confirmed seeing Douglas.
'We talked to employees and some people think they saw a woman fitting her description, but no one has positively confirmed seeing her,' Keating said.
Belfast and state police searched the woods near the shopping plaza with dogs during the weekend but 'turned up nothing,' Keating said.
'We've searched, talked to people at the store, ran it on the local newscasts but we are at a loss. We tried everything we know,' Keating said. 'We talked to Lexington police and they confirmed that the Douglases left, but they said Mrs. Douglas has not arrived back at home.'
Keating and family members said Douglas is in good health, not taking any medication, has a keen sense of direction and is not inclined to wander.
'She's in good health and has never had a moment's disorientation,' said Frank Douglas, a retired Boston banker. 'There is no conceivable reason why she did not come back.'
