KENTWOOD, Mich. — UPDATE: A family friend who has been facilitating the search efforts told 13 ON YOUR SIDE Karen Sorensen was found safe on Friday.
Kentwood Police Department Capt. Tim Wierenga said she was found around 7 p.m. Friday, and taken to an area hospital to get checked out.
"We would like to thank the many groups and individuals that came out and assisted," Capt. Wierenga said.
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New footage of a missing mother from Kentwood has surfaced as search efforts from her neighbors, friends and family extend into day four.
Karen Sorensen, 59, was seen walking away from her home around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, on a video doorbell camera. She is reported missing from the 4700 block of Cavalcade Drive SE.
She stands about 5'4" and weighs about 125 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.
In the footage, Sorensen can be seen headed east on Cavalcade Drive, to take a left turn on Riva Ridge.
Family and friends said she was headed to Northeast Park- a place she frequently visited on a route she is used to walking. With her, it is believed she took a blue and white striped throw blanket and a red water bottle with stickers.
David Gill is a friend of the family who has been facilitating the search efforts. According to him, they're leaving no stone unturned.
On the night of Sorensen's disappearance, Gill said Kentwood police flew drones with thermal vision to search for her in the park. The next day, a search party walked where the drones couldn't see- underneath the canopy.
"We've got several ponds and creeks running through the park. They didn't find anything there," Gill said. "There are several entrances and exits, unofficial entrances and exits to the park that she could have taken."
Gill said that on the day she went missing, there was nothing out of the ordinary that would signal her disappearance.
"She's been dealing with some depression lately, a lot of insomnia, which, so her decision-making has been thrown off a little bit by that," Gill said. "She went to take her walk, grabbed that on their way out the door. And now we have not found the blanket, the water bottle or Karen."
Now that days of extensive search have passed in Northeast Park, Gill said the family is starting to turn their attention outwards.
"We've got a lot of leads. We've followed up on a lot. The police, Silent Observer also followed up. All of them have been ruled out," Gill said. "At this point in time, we're asking people in a greater area to look we think Karen is not in the park. We think there's a good chance she left."
So far, Sorensen has only been seen entering Northeast Park. Gill said he is hopeful that more doorbell cameras around the area could point to where she might've gone.
"We're trying to find some more footage, video footage of that that will help us confirm if she left through the main entry," Gill said. "It took two days for someone to realize they had footage from Tuesday morning. Ask your friends, ask people around. If you're in the area, just check she may have made it to other neighborhoods as well."
Gill said support from the West Michigan community has been inspiring- on the social media app Nextdoor, Gill's post about Sorensen's disappearance received over 20,000 views in a couple of days. Gill said he hopes people can continue to see the message- in hopes that someone has seen her.
"There's going to be one small something that pops, that we're going to find out where she is and but we need everyone to be looking and everyone to, help with that," Gill said. "If you think you see Karen, call the Kentwood police. Call silent observer, and just let them know."
"This park is popular. There are people all day," Gill added. "A lot of people drive in from outside the neighborhood to walk their dogs, have the kids play in the playground. So hopefully this reaches them too that we haven't seen come back and maybe they realize, oh, the blanket. Yes, I saw a woman carrying a blanket, and I did see her... Just keep asking yourself, did I see something?"
Gill said that he and the family will keep pushing to find Sorensen.
"She's a friend, a mom, a wife, a coworker. She's an amazing person," Gill said. "We're doing it because we love her, and we're doing it because we would hope that everyone would do the same if we were in this family's shoes."
Gill has created a Facebook account to update the public and bring awareness to the search for Sorensen.
Anyone with knowledge of Karen's whereabouts, have seen her in the past three days, or has found footage of her on a security camera is asked to contact Kentwood Police at 616-698-6580 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or SilentObserver.org.
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