THE daughter of missing Barbara Colling has thanked the hundreds of people involved in the search for their “overwhelming support”, two weeks on from her disappearance.

Teams of volunteers have carried out daily searches for the missing 68-year-old, who was last seen near Helmsley on January 28, walking on the along the B1257 towards Stokesley. Mrs Colling suffers from dementia.

Police have said there is sadly “very little hope” of now finding Mrs Colling alive.

Her daughter Lizzy Firmin, said: “The support has been overwhelming - the whole community has come together and done their best to help. The searches have been very well attended, not just the public but the park rangers.”

About 130 volunteers helped with the search on Saturday and 60 to 70 on Sunday.

Six search and rescue teams affiliated with the North East Search and Rescue Association (NESRA) took part in the search over the weekend.

It included teams from Northumberland, North of Tyne, Cleveland, Swaledale, Teesdale and Scarborough and Ryedale areas.

They have worked in tandem with North Yorkshire Police, which, in turn, has amassed a team of local volunteers to help comb the edge of the North York Moors near Helmsley and Rievaulx.

A 39-year-old rescue volunteer had to be airlifted to hospital after injuring himself during the search for Mrs Colling.

The Newcastle man, was flown to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough with a back injury after he fell during the search operation on Saturday but he is not seriously injured and has been treated for bruising, police said.

The man police want to trace was driving a dark-blue estate car south along the B1257 close to Newgate Bank, on Monday, January 28.

A witness has come forward to say they thougtht the man driving the car exchanged waves with the woman believed to be 68-year-old Mrs Colling as she walked along the road.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.