Elderly woman missing from Peninsula after birthday hike, devastating partner of 34 years

Elderly woman missing from Peninsula after birthday hike, devastating partner of 34 years

Margaret "Elaine" McKinley went missing from a Thursday hike from the Windy Hill Preserve in Portola Valley.

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif. - An emergency search was underway on Friday for an elderly woman who went missing during a birthday hike in Portola Valley, worrying her lifelong partner of three decades.  

"It was my 81st birthday. We were out there," said Kit Durgin, 81, the partner of Margaret "Elaine" McKinley, 79, who disappeared on Thursday about 1 p.m. from the Windy Hill Preserve. "We were enjoying that we could still hike."

Durgin told KTVU she was trying to stay calm while hundreds of law enforcement officers, including those from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, were actively looking for her partner of 34 years.

"I'm just jittery," Durgin said through some tears. "I can't sleep. I can't eat. I cry all the time, because I think about what it would be like for her to be out in the middle of the night, wherever ‘out there’ is."

Durgin said McKinley ran ahead of her hiking group, and she was last seen in a red jacket. 

McKinley had some water and an apple with her, but she didn't have her phone.

Durgin is especially worried because McKinley suffers from dementia, and the area has steep terrain and poison oak. 

Despite that, the two love to stay active. 

"We enjoy a lot of things together," Durgin said. We dance three to four times a week, ballroom dance. We hiked the other day. "We do things we like so it doesn't feel like I'm care giving." 

San Mateo County Sheriff's spokeswoman Gretchen Spier said more than 100 search-and-rescue volunteers are helping out.  

Crews have been looking for her on the ground and in the air, and also sent out their K-9 and dirt bike units, but unfortunately have not found her.

"I'm overwhelmed by the help and support," Durgin said. "It's the only way I have any calmness." 

Volunteers and deputies search for missing 79-year-old Margaret McKinley. May 2, 2025 

San Mateo County sheriff's detectives help search for a missing 79-year-old hiker. May 2, 2025 

Kit Durgin was out for a hike for her 81st birthday with her partner, Margaret McKinley. 

Windy Hill Preserve in San Mateo County.