Full Notification

Mill Valley, CA – On Sunday, January 25, 2026, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Mill Valley Police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of Vista Linda Drive following a report of a missing person. Upon arrival, officers learned that 72-year-old Judy Gilbert had left the residence at approximately 12:20 p.m. after abruptly ending a phone conversation.

Gilbert is described as a white female adult, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 90 pounds. Based on recent life events, including the abandoned phone conversation, officers determined that Gilbert was despondent and at risk. Officers immediately began searching the surrounding area; however, Gilbert was not located. Information was disseminated to the public to assist in locating her, and a Silver Alert was activated with assistance from the California Highway Patrol.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., Mill Valley Police requested assistance from the Marin County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team to expand and enhance search efforts. Search personnel responded shortly thereafter, and the operation eventually involved approximately 60 Search and Rescue members, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Team, and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office “Henry-1” helicopter. These initial search efforts concluded at approximately 2:30 a.m. on January 26, 2026, without locating Gilbert.

Search efforts were continued and expanded into Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th, using similar resources and methods.

In total, the Mill Valley Police Department has been assisted by more than 250 public safety members and volunteers from search and rescue teams in Marin, Sonoma, Napa, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, and Lake counties, as well as California Search and Rescue, the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Team, California Rescue Dog Association and Marin County Fire Foundry K-9 teams, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, and Marin County Open Space Rangers. Collectively, these teams have searched more than 1,500 miles of trails, fire roads, residential areas, parks, and open space over the past three days.

Despite these extensive efforts, Judy Gilbert remains missing as of the time of this release. The Mill Valley Police Department will continue working with the Marin County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team on limited, and continuous search efforts beginning the morning of January 28, 2026.

The Mill Valley Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the many agencies and volunteers who have assisted in this search. We also thank members of the public for their continued support and ask residents in the area where Gilbert went missing to review home surveillance footage for any information that may assist in locating her.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing; therefore, no additional information will be released at this time.