Police ScotlandA major search operation is under way for a woman who went for a walk on the Solway estuary but phoned to say she was stuck in the mud.
Shona Campbell, 74, was staying at the Moss-Side caravan park in Cummertrees but has not been seen since the alarm was raised at about 17:00 on Monday.
It is understood she made the call to report getting into difficulties herself.
Police said “extensive searches” were being carried out involving specialist resources and they were working with other emergency services.
Ms Campbell is believed to have been wearing jeans, a brown wax jacket and wellington boots.
Temperatures overnight in the area were sub-zero.
Insp Amy Ritchie said: “Every effort is being made to find Shona and her family are being supported by officers at this difficult time.
“From our inquiries so far, we know Shona left the caravan park to go for a walk before getting into difficulty and has not returned.
“Local officers and search advisers are being assisted by specialist resources.”
She appealed to anyone with information “no matter how small” to get in touch.
An HM Coastguard spokesman said its search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick was called out at about 17:15 on Monday following a report of a woman stuck in mud by the mouth of the River Nith.
He added that Coastguard Rescue Teams were sent from Annan, Burgh-by-Sands and Portling, as well as the Nith Inshore Rescue lifeboat.
Stewart Bryden, senior coastal operations officer with HM Coastguard, said: “There was a report went into Police Scotland last night at about 17:00 – a 999 call that a lady was in difficulty stuck in the mud on the Solway.
“Teams were quickly deployed on to the scene and searched until approximately 23:00 last night with nothing found.”
He said the search had resumed in the morning along with members of police, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Nith Inshore Rescue.
“We have got a lot of mud and quicksand out in the Solway, it is a quick tide,” he said.
“As we know, mud and quicksand moves so it is unpredictable where they can be and how they get stuck.”
The area off the south of Scotland coast is considered dangerous due to some of the fastest tidal movements in Europe.
Large areas of mudflats surround the estuaries of the River Nith and River Annan, with many areas vulnerable to quicksand.
A pilot scheme is seeing if satellite imagery could help rescuers navigate the waters more quickly to get to people who find themselves in difficulties.