Multiple agencies work to find missing Gibsonville woman as search enters 1 week

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Officials are giving an update on the search for a missing woman in Guilford County as her disappearance nears the one-week mark.

On Thursday, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to give an update on the ongoing search for Gwen Jenell Collins, who was last seen on Aug. 9 on Bellflower Road in Gibsonville.

The search continues, according to Sheriff Danny Rogers, who thanked the various agencies that have been helping them search for Collins.

“This collaboration is a testament to the strength and unity of our community in times of crisis,” Rogers said.

“This is a tragic time for everybody,” Sergeant Wright of the GCSO said.

Wright said that people in the community have reported seeing Collins in the area which has impacted their search area, and the levels and flow of the Haw River have impacted the search, which is extensive. They’re searching several acres around Bellflower Lane, and around the Haw River, which feeds down into Jordan Lake.

“I’ve only had a handful of hours of sleep since last Friday,” Chief Apple of Fire Station 28 said, outlining the extensive work being put in to the search.

Searchers were worried she may have slipped and fallen into the Reedy Fork Tributary due to her vision being impaired by cataracts, and their early searches were impeded by high water levels in the area.

Search crews are putting in nearly 10 hours daily.

“We’re a small community out here … We care about everybody, and we just want to try to get her back home,” Apple said.

Gwen’s family said she has schizophrenia and needed her medication and left home without notice when nobody was home on Friday.

Her husband told FOX8 she was last seen by someone they knew, walking around near their home.

The search spans from near Gwen’s Gibsonville home to around the area of Northeast Park and stretches to Jordan Lake near Raleigh.

“If anyone has information regarding Mrs. Collins’s whereabouts, please do not hesitate to call us,” Rogers said.

The sheriff’s office says at this time, nothing suugests there was criminal activity that led to Gwen’s disappearance.

If you’ve seen Gwen, call GCSO Detective D. Duncan at (336) 641-5968 or Guilford County Crime Stoppers at (336) 373-1000.

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