Rosanna Giacobbo, Rosie to many who know her, hasn't been seen or heard from since October 2. And while friends, family and the police in the Lac La Biche community say she is missing, those who organized a grassroots search party for the 51year-old say they have found strength in the community support.
"We want to get as many people as possible to come out and join in the search," said family friend Carole Torresan the day before a ground search was being organized at the Hylo Community Hall, in a community about 20 kilometres west of Lac La BIche where Giacobbo had been staying. Torresan explained that her husband and Giacobbo have been friends since childhood, saying she was "like a sister."
Social media posts, announcements and updates from local media in and around La Biche and news coverage from larger centres in northern Alberta have all linked thousands of people to the search for the woman and her red Ford Explorer SUV.
Westlock was on travel plans
Torresan wants more people to know about the search. She hopes Giacobbo may simply be disoriented and staying with someone who may not realize that she is a missing person.
"We want to spread this message to find her far and wide in case she's there with someone that doesn't know she is missing."
Giacobbo was supposed to travel to the Westlock area on the day she went missing. In the 10 days since she was last seen, there has been no activity in her bank accounts and her cell phone is not responding.
The family-organized ground search on Saturday will be expanded from the immediate area to a wider section if no clues to her whereabouts are found.
"We have so much support in the local area, so we'll start here. If nothing turns up, we'll start going west."
Torresan and Giacobbo's family are asking for any member of the public to keep a watch for Giacobbo or her red SUV with Alberta licence plate number CBH 9814
Rosanna Giacobbo is described as a five-foot-six inch caucasian with brown hair and green eyes.
Local RCMP have been notified about the community search, as well as a local search and rescue organization.
Anyone with information that could lead to Giacobbo's whereabouts can contact their local RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
