POLICE scoured a large patch of Lake Macquarie bushland late into the night on Thursday as they searched for a woman missing since lunchtime the day before.
Vicki Davey, 63, was facing the possibility of a second night alone in Glenrock State Conservation Area after she told family she was going for a walk at lunchtime on May 1, never to be heard from since. Newcastle Herald has confirmed on Friday morning that Ms Davey was not found during the overnight search and emergency services were prepping for day three of the large-scale operation.
Police discovered Ms Davey's vehicle parked with her phone inside it in a carpark off Burwood Road, and launched a multi-agency search which continued throughout the night.
Officers - backed by the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), Rural Fire Service (RFS) and National Parks and Wildlife crews - swarmed the area to scour walking trails and bushland all day on Thursday.
Specialist resources were called in and the PolAir helicopter hovered low overhead as it searched the Glenrock area, and further up and down the coast, from above.
RFS and SES crews carried out line searches through dense bushland, while police dogs, horses, motorcycles, mountain bikes, Lake Macquarie's rescue officers and an ATV assisted in the effort to find Ms Davey.
Police thanked members of the public that helped comb walking tracks in the conservation area as they went about their morning routines.
Dozens of emergency service workers were seen coming and going from the Police Rescue command post at the carpark at the start of the Yuelerbah Walking Track on Thursday as the search stretched on.
Lake Macquarie Inspector Anita Kruse told media on Thursday morning that officers held serious concerns for Ms Davey's welfare.
"She sent her partner a message to say that she would be coming to Glenrock for a walk around about lunchtime yesterday and she hasn't been heard from since," Inspector Kruse said.
"We've located Vicki's vehicle and her mobile phone was in that vehicle, and they are here in the carpark, and we've had no contact or any other sightings since.
"I imagine she's been out in the weather all night, she's probably looking fairly wet and cold by this stage."
Inspector Kruse said Ms Davey suffered a medical condition which needed attention.
She said the focus was on Glenrock State Conservation Area and the nearby coastline but it was possible Ms Davey was no longer in there.
"What we need is members of the public to be aware of Vicki being missing," she said.
"It is possible that she left this bushland area, perhaps got lost, or come up in a different area as these tracks go right across Lake Macquarie and Newcastle and we need the public to let us know if there are any sightings of Vicki."
Those involved in the search effort battled bad weather conditions and were drenched during the overnight search on Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
The nearby creek was fast-flowing the ground was soaked.
"We've been dealing with serious wet weather conditions, heavy, heavy rain, it's finally fining up so that's now on our side but it's been very difficult search conditions," Inspector Kruse said.
The wet and cooler weather has been forecast to continue in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in the coming days.
Police confirmed there had been one incident of a similar nature involving Ms Davey in the past 12 months.
Glenrock State Conservation Area is a part of Lake Macquarie that police believe Ms Davey is familiar with.
Ms Davey has been described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 150 centimetres tall, of a slim build, and has blonde-grey hair cut in a bob.
She was last seen wearing jeans, a jumper and joggers.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
