San Francisco Police are asking for the public’s help in locating an elderly Asian American woman who went for a walk last week and never returned to her Richmond District home.
Jean Chang Kan Fung, 84, was reported missing on Friday.
She’s described as five feet tall, 90 lbs. with white hair. Ms. Fung was last seen wearing a red or pink puffy jacket, purple sweater, brown pants, black "UGG" boots and a red beanie with an "LG" logo, police said on Tuesday.
"Our grandmother is a very kind person, always smiling and loves the outdoors. Our entire family has been extremely worried since Friday. We know she’s out there," Ms. Fung's family said in a statement. "We don’t know how she is, whether she is hungry or needs help. We are pleading with everyone to please keep an eye out for her. She speaks Cantonese and Toisan. We miss her. Thank you to all who have assisted and continue to assist in this search. Our family has always been her number one priority. Because of the language barrier, we believe she is out there feeling helpless and scared. Please help reunite us."
She’s known to frequent Clement St., the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field and the Graton and River Rock Casinos.
Police said that California Highway Patrol officers saw her walking near the McArthur tunnel on Friday.
"She did not appear to be disoriented, did not appear to have any kind of medical issues," Acting Deputy Chief Raj Vaswani said. "At that time she was not actually reported missing because she goes out on walks and that was only half an hour from the time that she went on her walk."
The officers used a translation phone app to communicate with her and gave her a ride to the Marina Safeway as a courtesy. She has not been seen since.
"I am very concerned that Grandma Fung has been missing for more than five days," Supervisor Connie Chan said. "It seems that there were missed opportunities, frankly, for her to return home safely if it weren’t for the lack of language support and cultural competency.""
"It is imperative that every time someone calls 911, every time there is an emergency, they can get help just as quickly if they don’t speak English as if they do," District Attorney Chesa Boudin said, agreeing that all agencies must do better. Police said Fung is considered at-risk "due to her age and possible medical conditions."
The public is asked to call 911 if they see her and be prepared to report her current condition and clothing.
The 24-hour tip line is 415-575-4444. You can also text TIP411.
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