OKMULGEE, Okla. — It's been a week since an elderly Bristow woman disappeared from her home.
71-year-old Patricia Mathews' car was found last Sunday, but she was not inside.
Now, the intense heat, her health issues, and her age are making the search that much more urgent.
"We’ve got an elderly person who has health issues missing in an area that a vehicle was found and I’m sorry, I feel like minimum effort is being put forward," said Mathews son, Tony Trout.
The frustration and stress of not knowing where she's at is starting to show.
Tony Trout says his mom, Patretia Mathews, left her home last week and hasn't been heard from since.
"Last Friday, my mother was said to have left her home to look for houses. I don’t understand why. She owns her home, and so we’re not real clear or sure. She does have dementia so it could be part of that," said Trout.
WATCH: Bristow elderly woman missing for a week
Then on Sunday, her 2018 silver Subaru Outback was found in a rural area.
"We got a call of a suspicious vehicle at an intersection near Jones and Webster road in Okmulgee County. Sheriff’s deputies went out there and ran the plate, and it came back to a missing and endangered person, which would be Miss Mathews," said Jeff Moore, Okmulgee County Emergency Management Director.
Investigators with the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office, along with emergency management, have followed up on leads and possible sightings and have conducted several searches.
Along with teams from Okmulgee, members of Oklahoma Task Force 1, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and Wagoner County Emergency Management, and others, have joined in the search for Mathews.
Moore said one thing that's making the search difficult is the fact that Mathews did not have her cellphone with her.
"She left her cellphone in Bristow. We did ask the family that, and so that was of no help tracking her whereabouts," he said.
Moore says her vehicle was left in great condition and simply ran out of gas.
For Tony, the emotional toll of not knowing what happened to his mother is draining.
Investigators are asking anyone in the area to check their trail cams and contact them immediately if they spot her.
A large search is planned using drones and tracking dogs on Saturday morning at 8am.
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