In the 11 days since Sherry Wellwood went missing, friends have become increasingly worried that the Hillsboro woman may be in danger.

Wellwood, 46, was last seen Dec. 10 after she was discharged from a Portland hospital after a mental health hold, Hillsboro Police Sgt. Eric Bunday said. On Thursday, her car was found on a mountain road in rural southern Oregon, with no sign of the missing woman.

Bunday said a family member reported Wellwood missing to the department on Wednesday. He said Wellwood had been discharged from the hospital on Dec. 10, where she was receiving mental health treatment. On Thursday evening, two people found Wellwood’s car in Josephine County.

Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel said Wellwood’s car was found on Spencer Creek Road, a Bureau of Land Management road in a remote area of the county with 4,600 feet elevation.

Daniel said the sheriff’s office has found no indication of foul play in Wellwood’s disappearance.

Wellwood’s car appeared to be stuck in about 8 inches of snow and had gone slightly off the road. The snow under the exhaust pipe was black, indicating that the car had idled for a while, Daniel said.

He noted that Wellwood’s car had about six inches of snow on top of it, which made him think that the car had been there for several days. The last snow had been five or six days before the car was found, he said.

Daniel said search and rescue crews conducted a road search on Friday morning.

“We were thinking if she tried to walk out, she would likely be along a road somewhere,” Daniel said.

He said the area is in between the communities of Selma, Williams and Murphy, but it would likely take several hours to get to any of those places on foot from the place her car was found.

When Friday’s search turned up no results, Daniel said crews went back out on Saturday to conduct another road search as well as a ground search — covering off-road areas in all directions around the car.

They still didn’t find Wellwood, but Daniel said they found one piece of clothing that could belong to her. On a narrow road uphill from the car, he said searchers found a beanie.

“There were lots of butterfly stickers and images in and around the car,” Daniel said. “And the beanie also had a butterfly on it.”

Daniel said there’s no confirmation the hat belongs to Wellwood, and they will submit it for DNA testing.

Daniel said they also found several items inside Wellwood’s car, including a sleeping bag, a tarp, a jacket and some pamphlets with tips for survival and shelter in the wilderness. He said all of her belongings were still in the car, including her wallet, purse and phone. The phone only works off Wi-Fi, Daniel said, so it’s not possible to track its location before Wellwood went missing. He said the last activity on the phone was Dec. 10.

Daniel said they found receipts in Wellwood’s car that indicated she made a purchase in Eugene on Dec. 10, and one in Myrtle Creek on Dec. 11. He said no one has reported seeing her in that area.

Wellwood’s friend Michelle Pimental said the mother of two was suffering from a mental health crisis and may have been disoriented, which she believes may have caused her to wander off.

Pimental, who said she’s known Wellwood for 25 years, said she had been in the hospital for about two weeks. Upon discharge, Pimental said, Wellwood was supposed to go to a walk-in clinic but did not show up.

Pimental said she spoke to her friend on Dec. 10 before she was discharged from the hospital. She said she tried to convince Wellwood to stay in the hospital longer, but Wellwood got agitated and hung up the phone.

Although Wellwood could have elected to stay in the hospital voluntarily beyond the hold imposed by the county, Pimental said she believes her friend should have been committed for longer. But such an extension is rare — Oregon law states that a person with mental illness can be committed for up to six months only if they’re deemed an immediate danger to themselves or others or unable to take care of their own basic needs.

Pimental called the disappearance “alarming” and said it was out of character for her friend.

She said if someone encounters Wellwood, they should be aware that she could be in a manic state and may not have had medication that she needs.

“She is a very kind, nice person, and I don’t anticipate she’d be assaultive," Pimental said.

Pimental said her friend is in a vulnerable state, and it’s possible that someone may have picked her up.

“I hope somebody good found her and has taken her somewhere safe,” Pimental said.

Daniel said snow and bad weather hampered the search crews’ efforts on Sunday, but said they would resume when weather permits.

“We’re not done,” he said. “We’ll exhaust all options to track and locate her.”

—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

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