Police seek missing senior
Oak Bay police are asking for assistance in locating 82-year-old Gladys Barman.
Barman, an Oak Bay resident, was last seen on video surveillance cameras at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Petro-Canada station on West Saanich Road with a forest-green 2002 Honda Accord, B.C. licence plate 940 RGA. It’s unclear which direction she was heading after she left the gas station.
Her son, Neil Barman, said that gas station is not part of her regular route and she has no friends in that area.
Credit card records show Barman purchased gas but no other purchases have been made since then, Neil Barman said.
Barman’s cellphone appears to be off as none of the family’s calls are going through, her son said.
She has been a paper carrier for the Times Colonist for the past 23 years and has volunteered for every Times Colonist Book Sale except for the first one in 1998. Barman also volunteered with Thrifty’s Sendial program for 25 years, delivering groceries to seniors and people with mobility issues.
The family realized something was wrong when Barman uncharacteristically missed her paper route Friday morning.
Barman told family members and her doctor that she had been having issues with her memory.
Neil Barman worries it could be the first signs of dementia and that his mother might be lost and confused.
Barman is described as five-foot-eight and about 185 pounds. She was wearing glasses, a teal windbreaker and white sneakers.
Neil Barman said friends and family have been asking where they should look, a question that right now seems difficult to answer.
“It’s hard to say where she is, where to look,” he said. “She’s gone out of her range, so she could be anywhere.”
Anyone who sees Barman or her vehicle is asked to call Oak Bay police at 250592-2424.