Harry S. Moss Park
Gwen McTernen’s daughter became concerned when her mother didn’t return from a walk along White Rock Creek Trail in Harry S. Moss Park last Saturday, so she posted alerts on Facebook and missing person flyers along the trail. Her mom’s body was found Monday, where she had apparently fallen into White Rock Creek.
McTernen, 66, was visually impaired, but she was independent and often went walking, her pastor, Rev. Victor Kollmann, told WFAA. She took DART from her home in Richardson to access the trail.
“She used a cane to walk because she was blind, and they think somehow she slipped off the sidewalk and just fell because it was right off a steep slope and just slipped because it was so wet,” Kollman said. “(She) just slipped down the slope into the water.”
Friends said she was legally blind, although not without some visual abilities. She was a frequent trail walker, capable of maneuvering around fallen trees and broken pavement.
Dallas Police and Fire-Rescue units responded Monday night around 8 p.m. when McTernan’s body was found by park goers, but they have not officially released the cause and manner of her death.
