‘Please come home’: Family of missing woman hold out hope as search scaled back

Search efforts for missing mother Kate Mandala have been scaled back, but her family say they have not given up hope and are appealing to the public for help.

The family of missing woman Kate Mandala say they have not given up hope, despite police scaling back their search and rescue operations for the 74-year-old who disappeared two weeks ago in Ipswich.

Close friend of the family, Milly Chitabwa, speaking alongside Ms Mandala’s daughter Gina said “we just want her to come home”.

“We’re still holding on to hope that she will be found and she will come home.”

Milly Chitabwa, family friend of missing 74-year-old woman Kate Mandala has been helping lead the search to try find her. Picture: Nicola McNamara

Ms Mandala came to Australia from Malawi in October, and was visiting family in Augustine Heights for Christmas before her disappearance on December 30.

“The disappearance is out of character,” Ms Chitabwa said.

“We’re just as puzzled as everyone else. If we had any inkling of where she might be we’d definitely be going to those places but we just don’t know.”

Emergency services had been co-ordinating extensive searches, including using drones, police on horseback and mountain bikes, residential doorknocks and loudspeaker messages in Ms Mandala’s native Malawian language.

Kate Mandala has been missing since December 30. Picture: Supplied/QPS

Police are appealing for the community’s aid as the search for a missing Augustine Heights woman Kate Mandala woman enters its fourth day. Picture: Supplied/QPS

Ms Chitabwa said the family was thankful for the efforts.

“They haven’t stopped, they’ve scaled back which we totally understand. They’ve done a lot, we’re very happy that the police have done so much.”

Ms Chitabwa appealed to the public to keep an eye out for Ms Mandala around Ipswich and Brisbane as she may have travelled some distance.

Ms Mandala has a dark complexion, slim build and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, a long multi-coloured wrap skirt and a black sun hat.

She has a medical condition which may cause her to be disoriented, and police are urging members of the public to thoroughly check their properties and report any potential sightings.