The Buckeye Police Department asked for the public’s help finding a 46-year-old woman named Hope Tucker who has been missing since May 22, though authorities only learned of her disappearance Saturday.

Tucker, who is described as 6-foot-2 inches tall and about 220 pounds, went missing sometime after her purple Dodge Charger broke down west of Phoenix on Interstate 10 near Verrado Way, which is within Buckeye city limits. Police on June 23, 2024, asked the public to avoid the area due to the search activity underway.

Tucker’s car broke down during the early morning hours of May 22 while she was with her adult son who has autism, high support needs and has limited ability to communicate, according to officials with the Buckeye Police Department, who did not learn about Tucker’s disappearance until June 22− exactly one month after she went missing.

Tucker’s son is safe and in the care of a relative. He’d previously been hospitalized for nearly month, according to Buckeye police who say investigators learned they’d had contact with him on May 24 when he was reportedly urinating in public and appeared to be in medical distress. Officials with the Buckeye Fire Department took him to the hospital.

Buckeye police say Tucker’s son told his relative on June 22 about what happened when his mother’s care broke down, and the relative contacted police, who immediately initiated a search.

Police say when Tucker’s car broke down on May 22, she and her son left the vehicle to seek shade and that shortly thereafter, she may have suffered a life-threatening medical emergency. Just after 11 a.m. that same day, a trooper found the abandoned vehicle on I-10 near milepost 119 and it was towed, police say.

Buckeye police say they tried to ping Tucker’s phone with no success. They are conducting search operations and coordinating with partner agencies for additional resources.

Buckeye police say they’ve found no evidence that Tucker was a resident of Buckeye, though “it does appear she has lived in other parts of the Valley in the past,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

Anyone with information on Tucker’s whereabouts is urged to call 911 or submit a tip online at www.buckeyeaz.gov/crimetip.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hope Tucker went missing May 22 near I-10 and Verrado Way in Buckeye