Search Expands for Missing Grandmother Pat O'Hagan

Pat O'Hagan, 78, hasn't been seen for a week.

ByABC News
September 17, 2010, 10:58 AM

Sept. 19, 2010 — -- A hundred volunteers from as far as Connecticut and Cape Cod came to Vermont this weekend to help the search for a grandmother of nine who has been missing for than a week.

Pat O'Hagan, 78, was last seen on Friday, Sept. 10, but was reported missing the following Sunday, when she failed to show up for a rug hooking class she never missed.

Now police say that her disappearance is "suspicious" and that foul play is likely involved.

The volunteers helped police and the FBI comb a 25-square-mile area around Sheffield, Vt., scuba divers even checked a nearby quarry, but there was still no sign of the missing grandmother.

"Anybody who has information relative to the case that can be helpful to please come forward," her son, Terry O'Hagan, said.

The mystery began last weekend, when a friend came to pick up O'Hagan for a rug hooking meeting. O'Hagan was nowhere to be found, but her car was still in the driveway.

Police said there was no reason to believe she has wondered off on her own.

Missing person signs are now posted all over Sheffield, a quiet town of 700 people, while O'Hagan's children cling to memories of an active senior who cherished her family.

O'Hagan's family said the 78-year-old is not forgetful. She doesn't have a boyfriend, and isn't wealthy, so there would be no financial motive for her abduction. In fact, they said, they've been racking their brains trying to think of anyone who doesn't like her.

"We've been looking and can't find anybody," said Maureen O'Hagan, her daughter.

But police said last week they believe the woman, who enjoys arts and crafts and was once the president of her town's historical society, has been abducted from her home.