Saturday morning update on the search for missing Duluth couple

UPDATE: The Tarnowskis were found deceased near Brookston on Saturday; foul play is not suspected. Details here .

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Efforts to find Ron and Mary Tarnowski, the Duluth couple missing since July 29, have ramped up with a new emergency command center set up in Pike Lake and a new tip line.

The last documented sighting of the elderly couple was at 1:14 p.m. July 29, when a video shows the couple stopping at the Country Corner store near Brookston and then heading west after leaving. Searches of security cameras in the area of Floodwood, Swan River and Grand Rapids haven't turned up any further sightings of the couple, their son Karl Tarnowski said during a Saturday news conference. They're still searching cameras in the Cromwell area.

“Still no Mom and Dad home. It’s been extremely tough. The outpouring of the people, the professionals, the fire departments, everybody has been outstanding. I can’t say thank you enough to everyone. We are not giving up hope. We are keeping our heads held high. We’re going to be strong. We’re going to bring mom and dad home,” Karl told a crowd of volunteer searchers who gathered Saturday morning at the Tarnowski home.

Ron is 82 and in the early stages of dementia. Mary is 78 and suffers from right-side paralysis and has difficulty speaking. Ron was last seen wearing a grey-green T-shirt and brown pants and Mary was wearing a pink shirt and blue pants. They were not carrying cellphones or credit cards, and an OnStar system in their vehicle was not activated. The couple's vehicle is a pewter 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe with black plastic fender flares and Minnesota license plate 852JXG.

The Duluth Police Department has set up a new tip line, staffed by two dispatchers who are working exclusively on the Tarnowski case. Anyone with information is asked to call the tipline at (877) 888-3939 - and if people see the Tarnowskis, they are asked to stay with Ron and Mary and call 911 or the tip line. 

Law enforcement is not assigning search areas through the tip line; the Tarnowski family is coordinating volunteer searches and can be contacted via the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/findronandmary .

More than 100 people gathered in the Tarnowskis' driveway on Saturday morning, some wearing purple T-shirts and ribbons for Alzheimer's awareness, to hear about the search efforts thus far before heading out to search more on Saturday. The Alzheimer's Association is supporting the search efforts.

Karl asked that people search for the couple if they're willing to. Mary has a tough time walking because of her paralysis, and she and Ron are obvious people in a crowd, Karl said, mimicking his mother's walk. Karl added that he believes the couple are "off the beaten path" because no one has seen them since the Country Corner store and their license plate hasn't been scanned anywhere.

There was no trace of the couple at the family’s hunting shack and planes have conducted an aerial search in the area of the shack, Karl said. Although planes were grounded on Friday due to weather, air searches were expected to take place on Saturday.

Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said the police department decided to change tactics on Friday due to the growing search for the couple, and set up the emergency command center at Pike Lake to create a centralized location for the various agencies assisting in the search.

“This has grown now because, as Karl said, we’re not looking for a needle in a haystack because we haven’t found the haystack yet,” Tusken said. “If we find the haystack, we’ll find the needle.”

Karl said the Tarnowski family was “dumbfounded” when the couple weren’t at their home adjacent to Karl’s house on the night of July 29 and “here it is, the next Saturday and we’re running out of time.” He thought they would have called by now because his mother is always curious about what he and his brother Kurt are up to.

“We are all dumbfounded that Mom didn’t honk the horn, push the OnStar button, scream. If they stopped at a stop sign, why didn’t she just open the door and fall out, get attention,” Karl said.

Check back for updates.

1/9: Karl Tarnowski is emotional while talking about the search for his parents, Ron and Mary Tarnowski, at their Duluth home Saturday morning. Ron and Mary Tarnowski were last seen July 29 near Brookston. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

2/9: This vehicle is similar to what the Tarnowskis are driving: a pewter 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe with black plastic fender flares and Minnesota license plate 852JXG. (Image from facebook.com/findronandmary)

3/9: Karl Tarnowski talks to Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken about the search for his parents, Ron and Mary Tarnowski, at their Duluth home on Saturday morning. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

4/9: Volunteers hand out flyers at the Tarnowski home in Duluth to those searching for Ron and Mary Tarnowski on Saturday morning. Ron and Mary Tarnowski were last seen July 29 near Brookston. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

5/9: Chrissy Henry and Ed Born look at maps posted on the garage doors of the Tarnowski home in Duluth on Saturday morning. Henry, the daughter of Bev Tarnowski - daughter-in-law of the missing couple - is helping with the search for Ron and Mary Tarnowski, who were last seen July 29. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

6/9: Karl Tarnowski speaks to Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken about the search for his parents Ron and Mary Tarnowski at their Duluth home on Saturday morning. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

7/9: Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken updates the media and volunteers with Karl and Bev Tarnowski about the search for Karl's parents, Ron and Mary Tarnowski, at their Duluth home Saturday morning. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

8/9: Bev and Karl Tarnowski of Duluth talk to Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken about the search for Karl's parents, Ron and Mary Tarnowski, at their Duluth home Saturday morning. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)

9/9: Volunteers gather at the Tarnowski home in Duluth on Saturday morning. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)