Desperate search: Elderly woman Christine Irvine missing in bushland near Cundinup for nearly 24 hours

Police are scouring bushland for an elderly woman with dementia who has been missing in the South West since Wednesday evening. Christine Irvine was last seen at her property in Cundinup, near Bridgetown, about 6.30pm on December 14. An air and land search had been under way in bushland surrounding Ms Irvine’s property, on Balingup-Nannup Road, about 250km south of Perth. Temperatures in the area dipped to 12C overnight. The 75-year-old is described as about 170cm tall, with a slim build. She has short grey hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black track pants and black hiking sandals. Acting Detective Inspector John Harty said police believe Ms Irvine has dementia and may have become confused or disoriented and forgotten where she is and hold concerns for her welfare. “She’s been living on the property for some time so she knows the area well,” he said. “We believe she has dementia so her memory is not going to be good so she can get easily confused and lost so that may have occurred. “It is a symptom of dementia that people do wander off. “They might go for a walk knowing where they are and at some point they become confused or not recognise where they are and go off in a different direction. “People with dementia generally follow a certain pattern - they won’t climb over things, they’ll walk to a stop like a fence and walk along that boundary.” Det. Inspector John Harty said various air assets have been deployed on Wednesday night and throughout Thursday searching for Ms Irvine. “Last night we had the Emergency Rescue helicopter out and flying over looking for heat signatures and today we’ve had a helicopter up in the air looking for her and drones on site as well,” he said. “They’ve been searching different areas and we’ve had SES and police on the ground. “We’ll continue to search until last light tonight.” Det. Inspector Harty described the terrain of the search area as a mix of clear land, dense bushland and scrub. “It’s quite easy to traverse - it’s not too hilly or rugged,” he said. “There is a brook that runs down the eastern side of the property so we have concerns about that but we’re quite confident we’ll find her within the next 24 hours.” Anyone with information or who sees Ms Irvine is asked to contact police immediately on 131 444.