Police and the family of an East Boston woman who has been missing for more than a week are urging the public to help in the search to bring her home.
Elba Portillo, 61, was last seen Dec. 13 leaving for work about 9:30 a.m., wearing a black jacket, purple sweatpants, black Sketchers shoes, and a brown purse slung across her body. Portillo is described in a missing person alert issued by the Boston Police Department as a standing 5 feet, 3 inches tall and having brown hair and brown eyes.
She did not show up to her workplace on Meridian Street that Friday the 13th, police said.
This is not the first time Portillo has gone missing, police said, and she has previously been found sitting along the waterfront in East Boston.
Portillo’s oldest daughter, Natalie Umana, created a Facebook group in which users can post information about her mother’s whereabouts. In a five-minute video posted in both English and Spanish, Umana tearfully asked for help tracking down Portillo, who struggles with insomnia and dementia.
Umana said her mother does not have her ID or passport with her, nor her debit or credit cards. She believes Portillo is carrying about $300 in cash. She said her mother has an old Android cellphone that has been turned off since her disappearance.
Umana said her mother previously had been displaying signs of severe insomnia, loss of appetite, and disorientation, and she’d had trouble maintaining conversations.
“I could see that something was deeply wrong with her,” she said through tears. “I’m making this video to plead with the people of Boston to please help my family find my mom.”
Umana said Portillo was seen at La Cuchara Restaurant on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester on Thursday. Restaurant workers said Portillo was preaching to them, which Umana said is in character for her mom, a lifelong Christian.
Though the family has received multiple reports from people who have spotted Portillo, Umana said they have been unsuccessful in keeping her in one place long enough for them or the police to get there. She said it is common for Portillo to have the hood of her jacket over her head, making it difficult for people to decipher her features.
Umana asked that anyone who spots Portillo stop her or discretely follow her while immediately calling the family at 857-334-0522 or 857-207-9858, or Boston police detectives at 617-343-4234.
“The days are getting colder, the holidays are approaching, and I miss my mom terribly,” Umana said at the conclusion of the video, adding that all she wants to do is hug her mom. “Please help me make that happen. ... Please.”
Alexa Coultoff can be reached at alexa.coultoff@globe.com. Follow her @alexacoultoff.