Viola Marie Burgess was 98 years old when she was listed as last having contact on September 1, 2025, in Springdale, Arkansas. She was identified in the NamUs missing-person record as Viola Marie Burgess, a White/Caucasian woman with gray or partially gray hair and brown eyes. At the time she was reported missing, she was described as 5 feet 1 inch tall and approximately 210 pounds.
One important personal detail noted in the case information was that Viola was known to use a cane, a small but meaningful fact that speaks to her mobility and the concern that would naturally arise when an elderly person with that need could not be readily accounted for.
The circumstances recorded in the case were troubling because they suggested that the concern did not begin with a single missed appointment or a brief period without contact. According to the reported details, a complainant said Viola had not been seen for months. When the complainant contacted the residence manager, they were reportedly told that Viola also had not been seen for months. That kind of information would have raised serious worry for anyone who cared about her well-being, especially given her age and the uncertainty surrounding when she had last been personally observed. The available public details do not describe a confirmed route of travel, a vehicle, a destination, or a specific set of clothing, and they do not provide a fuller explanation of what may have happened during the period when she was reportedly unseen.
The case was associated with the Springdale Police Department in Washington County, Arkansas, with an agency case number of 26-5498 and a reported date of January 23, 2026. NamUs is a national clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases, used to help centralize information and assist investigators, agencies, and families working toward resolution. The Department of Justice’s public dataset description identifies NamUs as a national repository for these types of cases, and NamUs itself describes its role as helping investigators resolve cases and bring answers to families.
The later case data indicates that Viola Marie Burgess was found alive, meaning this is no longer an active missing-person case. The exact date she was found is not provided in the available information, so the timing of the resolution remains unclear and the public details are vague. What can be said with care is that a 98-year-old woman from Springdale was entered into NamUs after concerns arose that she had not been seen for months, local police were identified as the investigating agency, and the case was ultimately resolved with Viola alive; in overview, this was a deeply concerning missing-person report involving an elderly woman whose absence prompted official documentation and investigation, ending with the most hopeful resolution available in the record.Last Seen: Sep 1, 2025
