THE Fire and Rescue Services Department has deployed a tracker dog in the search for a 63-year-old woman reported missing six days ago in the small rural town of Pakan.

The victim, identified as Chemeral Mering of Ruman Lingoh, Nanga Engkeranji – about 374km from Kuching in central Sarawak – was last seen last Friday walking back to her longhouse after attending an interview with the Welfare Department.

A nephew was supposed to pick up Chemeral after the interview at the pre-arranged place of Nanga Entaih.

When he did not show up, she reportedly decided to walk the one-hour walk on the “old road” back to her longhouse.

Her kin did not realise she never made it back home until the next day.

When they did, they mounted a search for her with the help of longhouse folks – back tracking the old road for 1km and fanning out in a radius of 3km until the bank of a river there.

They only sought the assistance of the Fire and Rescue Department after failing to find her.

Apart from the dog and its two handlers, the Bintangor Fire and Rescue Department has also deployed three personnel from the Multi-skill Team (MUST) and one from the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team (STORM) in the search.

Five policemen, six from the Civil Defence Department and 24 longhouse villagers make up the number.

Over 122km away in the small, coastal town of Pusa, Fire and Rescue Department personnel based in the town of Saratok are in their fifth day searching for a 69-year-old woman who did not make it home after going to her farm.

Kg Semarang resident Rahobah Murni was last seen heading for the farm alone in the early morning of last Friday.

When she was not home as usual by 4.30pm, an anxious elder sister sounded the alarm and sought fellow villagers’ help to look for her. – November 18, 2020.