07/27/2026
BE ON THE LOOKOUT – ENDANGERED MISSING ELDERLY WOMAN
The Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's assistance in locating Shirley, an elderly woman who walked away from her residence this afternoon.
She was last seen on security camera at approximately 1:43 p.m. leaving her property on foot in the area of Shores Road and Cunningham Road in the southern end of Fluvanna County. A white female seen wearing a light blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue sneakers.
Because of her age, there is concern that Shirley may be confused or disoriented and may not know how to find her way home.
If you live in the area, please take a few moments to check your property, including garages, sheds, barns, or other outbuildings where someone may seek shelter. We also ask that you review any home security or doorbell camera footage that may have captured her.
If you have seen Shirley or have any information that could assist deputies in locating her, please contact the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office immediately at (434) 589-8211.
Please share this post to help us bring Shirley home safely.
***Update*** ***Still Missing*** ***Update***
Please see attached photo of Shirley in the outfit she was last seen wearing earlier today.
***Update*** ***Still Missing*** ***Update***
The missing person incident is still active and ongoing in the area of Shores Road.
Fire, Rescue, Law Enforcement and Search Teams will continue working through the night on foot and on UTV’s. Please continue to monitor areas on your property that a person could become entangled or trapped, or where they may take shelter.
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***Update*** ***Update***
***Community Message***
The search for 87-year-old Shirley Smyers remains active. Law-enforcement, fire and rescue personnel, and multiple K-9 teams continue to conduct a coordinated and methodical search in the area where Shirley was last seen. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is also coordinating additional resources and specialized search assets from across the Commonwealth to support this ongoing effort.
If you live on Shores Road or in the immediate surrounding area, we ask that you please take a few moments to thoroughly check your property, including garages, sheds, barns, crawl spaces, and any other outbuildings where someone may have sought shelter. If you have home security cameras or doorbell cameras, please review your footage for any sign of Shirley or her direction of travel.
We are incredibly grateful for the community's concern and willingness to help. At this time, however, we ask that the public not self-deploy into the search area. Trained search teams are working from established search plans, and unknown individuals entering the area can unintentionally interfere with those efforts. In particular, K-9 teams rely on undisturbed scent, and unnecessary foot traffic can compromise their ability to accurately track Shirley's movements. Unauthorized drones can also interfere with both ground and aerial search operations.
The best way to assist at this time is to remain vigilant, check your own property, review any available security camera footage, and report any information—no matter how small it may seem—to the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office.
If you have information regarding Shirley's whereabouts, please contact the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office immediately at (434) 589-8211.
We sincerely appreciate the tremendous support from our community and the many local, regional, and state public safety partners assisting in this search. Please continue to share this post. Every additional set of eyes increases the likelihood of bringing Shirley home safely
***Update*** ***Update***
***Community Message***
7/28/2026 -1645 Hours
The Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office would like to thank everyone who assisted during the search for Shirley Smyers.
The search efforts have now concluded, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support from our community over the past 24 hours.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the members of Fluvanna County Fire & Rescue, our volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for coordinating resources and specialized search assets from across the Commonwealth, our neighboring law enforcement and fire & rescue agencies, K-9 teams, and the many responders who worked tirelessly throughout this operation.
We also want to thank the local businesses, The Light Academy, and community members who provided food, water, and other support to our personnel during the search. Your generosity and kindness were greatly appreciated.
Finally, thank you to everyone who shared our posts, checked their property, reviewed security camera footage, and provided information to personnel. The support from this community was truly extraordinary and reflects the very best of Fluvanna County.
On behalf of the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office, thank you to everyone who played a role in this search.
