Police and family concerns remain high as the search continues for 81-year-old Woolston woman Valerie Hargrave, who was reported missing from her Christchurch home over the weekend. The latest public appeal keeps the focus on sightings, neighbourhood awareness, and the small pieces of information that can help search teams narrow where she may have gone after leaving home on Saturday morning.

According to the reported police appeal, Hargrave left her Woolston address about 10.30am on Saturday and had not been found by Sunday morning. Police said there had been no overnight update and continued to ask the public for any sightings. She was last seen wearing a pink cardigan or jersey, is about 167 centimetres tall, of small build, and walks with a shuffle, though she remains reasonably mobile.

The case is being treated as urgent because of Hargrave's age and the length of time she has been away from home. In missing-person searches involving older residents, time, weather, mobility, and familiarity with local streets all become important factors. Woolston's mix of residential lanes, bus routes, shops, parks and industrial edges gives searchers a wide area to consider, while also making public awareness especially useful.

Police have asked anyone who sees Hargrave to call 111 immediately. Non-urgent information can be passed to police through 105, using the reference number published with the appeal. That distinction matters: a confirmed sighting needs immediate action, while older information such as a remembered encounter, dashcam image, or doorbell camera clip may still be valuable through the non-emergency channel.

For Christchurch residents, the appeal is also a reminder of how quickly a routine trip from home can become serious. The most useful public response is practical rather than speculative: check sheds, garages and sheltered areas, review private camera footage if it points toward nearby streets, and report possible sightings directly to police rather than only posting online. The search remains active, and the priority is bringing Hargrave home safely.