Volunteers last weekend canvassed the Anchor Point and Ninilchik areas for a missing Homer woman, part of a continual effort to find Anesha “Duffy” Murnane, 38, now gone for more than two months.
Murnane has been missing since Oct. 17 after she was last seen in a security camera image leaving her Main Street apartment. Murnane’s mother is Sara Berg and her step-father is Ed Berg.
Last Saturday, Dec. 14, 11 volunteers in Anchor Point and 19 volunteers in Ninilchik canvassed the areas on 4-wheelers and on foot, as well as with drones. Volunteers also staffed a table at the Ninilchik Fair to give out information on the search for Murnane.
Murnane’s family has put up $10,000 toward a reward offered through Crimestoppers for any information leading to her return. Anonymous tips can be given to Crimestoppers by calling 907-283-8477. Information on the case is at the Peninsula Crime Stoppers page at www.peninsulacrimestoppers.com.
Murnane’s family has a Facebook page, Bring Duffy Home, and a Go Fund Me account to raise money to assist the search.
She disappeared on Oct. 17 after leaving her Main Street apartment for an appointment at the SVT Health & Wellness clinic on East End Road. The last confirmed sighting is a security camera photo showing her leaving the Maintree Apartments, a supported housing complex, about 12:15 p.m. that day. Murnane had a 1 p.m. appointment at SVT Health and Wellness Center, about a 1-mile walk from her home. She did not show up for that appointment.
Homer Police and Alaska State Troopers issued a Silver Alert on Oct. 19 for Murnane after she was reported missing that day. Anyone with information on her whereabouts can call Homer Police at 907-235-3150 or the Silver Alert hotline at 855-SILVR99 or 855-745-8799. A Silver Alert is for an adult considered a vulnerable person.
Murnane was wearing a blue jacket, light-blue shirt and blue jeans the last time she was seen. She is almost 6 feet tall, weighs about 160 pounds and has shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. She carried a pink-and-black plaid purse with a shoulder strap and carried her wallet, cell phone and identification. Police said she does not drive or own a vehicle and got around by walking.
The weekend after Murnane went missing, search and rescue dog teams from Anchorage tracked her in the downtown area, picking up scents from Main Street to Lee Drive, Svedlund Street, Pioneer Avenue and Kachemak Way. Search dogs got strong scents in the Kachemak Way to Pioneer Avenue area near Cosmic Kitchen, in front of Homer’s Jeans and the Kachemak Bay Campus. However, the dogs could no longer follow a scent and acted as if there had been what search dog handlers call a “car pick up.”
Murnane’s family say they believe someone picked her up in a vehicle and that she has been abducted.
Police feel confident they have ruled out Murnane disappearing in the downtown area near her home and getting lost because of illness or injury. Police haven’t found anything to suggest Murnane had suicidal or depressive thoughts or that she talked about disappearing.
Reach Michael Armstrong@marmstrong@homernews.com.
