Seventeen months after 88-year-old Myrtle Polk vanished from her Dallas neighborhood, there’s finally a break in the case – but not the one her family had been praying for.
This week, police recovered Polk’s 2004 black Lexus sedan from Five Mile Creek in southern Dallas. But the car, found overturned and submerged near Wagon Wheels Trail and South Lancaster Road, was empty. Polk was nowhere to be found.
Family members confirmed Tuesday night that the vehicle, long sought since her June 2024 disappearance, had been pulled from the creek by tow truck crews.
“The family has been preparing for any information regarding Myrtle Polk, and we are thankful for that,” her son, Phil Polk, told WFAA. “Now we are focused on finding her.”
WFAA reported that children playing in the area first spotted the vehicle upside down in the water, more than 100 yards from the nearest road. Officers scoured the banks of Five Mile Creek but found no sign of the beloved grandmother and retired teacher.
Polk was last seen on June 8, 2024, sitting outside her Laureland home, chatting with a neighbor who had stopped by. The next day, she never showed up for Sunday service at Exciting Singing Hills Baptist Church, where she had been a devoted member for more than 30 years, and loved ones became worried.
A Silver Alert was issued after Polk’s disappearance but was discontinued after a month without new leads. Police still classify her as “critical missing.”
According to family, the former Dallas ISD teacher and administrator was in the early stages of dementia when she went missing.
“She’s 88 years old and has some memory problems,” Phil Polk told FOX 4 shortly after she vanished. “So our concern is that she’s gotten herself somewhere, and she’s confused and doesn’t know where she is. And we just want to bring her home safely.”
Her son told Dateline in February that despite her memory issues, she was still living independently and was “fully functional.”
“Because she has such a strong community and village and had been by herself for 14 years, I felt safe and secure to know that she had people around her,” he said.
Phil believes his mother may have gotten lost on her way to church the morning she disappeared.
“The only thing I can think is that she was on her way to church, which is about a five-minute drive from her home, down one street. And missed her turn and continued to drive and just got confused,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, as tow trucks and police gathered at the creek, neighbors lined the road, watching in silence as the black Lexus, caked in mud and debris, was lifted from the water.
“All I know is that a lot of people have been searching for her,” neighbor Danny Shepherd told WFAA. “Please give my condolences to the family.”
In the months since she vanished, vigils have been held in her honor. At every one, neighbors and former students describe her the same way – a woman of grace, faith, and endless kindness.
“She’s like everybody’s mom,” her son said.
Polk is described as 5’3” tall, 130 pounds, with short silver-white hair and brown eyes. She has a mole on the side of her nose.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department at 214-671-4268.
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