THE family of missing Market Rasen pensioner Marion Scott say they are holding on to a slender hope she will be found alive.
They backed the renewed appeals from Lincolnshire Police for residents to search their land and any outbuildings or sheds they have to help find the 83-year-old dementia sufferer.
Today, searches were continuing in the Market Rasen area where posters have been circulated to homes and businesses in the hope someone recognised Mrs Scott and had seen her since her disappearance on December 27 from her home in Acre Close.
At the weekend, specialist dog teams and police officers, supported by members of the public, continued to comb the fields and walkways around the town.
Grandson Alex Stork, 29, told the Telegraph: "There was another sighting that someone had. They had remembered seeing her walking out of Market Rasen on the evening of December 27. But there has been nothing to shed light on where she might have gone.
"It has been difficult for the family, because on the one side, it is not like a bereavement as we still have a small bit of hope that she may have gone further afield somehow. That is our slim hope, given the condition she was in with her Alzheimer's. There is no body and it is a complete mystery to everyone. Everyone wants a positive outcome and it would be a relief to find her out there. But it is tough on us all."
He said Mrs Scott's husband of 62 years, Douglas, had remained positive, along with their three children, Sally Stork, Rebecca Ross and Richard Scott, of Nettleton.
Mr Stork said: "We have kept pushing for the awareness of her photo and appealing for people to get in touch if they saw her.
"Now we hope people will have returned possibly after a Christmas and New Year break and will check their properties."
He praised the response from Lincolnshire Police.
Mr Stork said: "They have been good and the communication has got better after the first couple of days of the search. The resources that they have put in have been good."
He said all his relatives joined the search in the first few days after Mrs Scott went missing.
"We were out night and day but since then we have concentrated more on getting the posters out in the hope someone has seen her and recognises her from the photo.
"We want as many people to see the photo as possible and for people to check their land and any outbuildings."
Inspector Mark Hillson, of Lincolnshire Police said the search strategy would be reviewed in the coming days.
He said: "Officers continued to carry out enquiries throughout the night and foot and vehicle searches will continue.
"We have had specially trained search officers co-ordinating the operation, along with members of the public and that will continue. We will react to information as we get it."
Call Lincolnshire Police on 101 if you have any information.
Updates will appear on www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk
