(WWJ) - Authorities are racing against time and weather conditions to safely locate a traveling nurse from Michigan who disappeared while on a hike in California this week.
According to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office, 66-year-old Ann Herford was last seen on the Arnold Rim Trail, roughly 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 15
Authorities said in a press release that Herford had mentioned hiking during breakfast with a friend on Nov. 11 and had been staying alone at a Best Western hotel.
Herford reported missing after she never showed up for work at Adventist Health in Sonora. Deputies said her vehicle was later located near the Arnold Rim trailhead on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The 66-year-old traveling nurse was reported to be from Michigan with family still living in the state by CBS Sacramento.
The sheriff's office said almost 80 people searched for Herford on Friday along with three K9 teams, two drones and nine e-bikes.
Authorities are concerned about looming weather conditions and have requested additional help in Saturday's search efforts, including 80 searchers from the California Office of Emergency Services and six canine teams.
"Regardless of the weather coming in, we're trying as hard as we can to find her," Lieutenant Greg Stark told CBS Sacramento. "The weather will complicate things and may reduce the visible footprints out there."
Deputies have asked anyone with any information on her whereabouts or those who saw her along the trail, to contact the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office at 209-754-6500.
