Emergency services will begin the search on Monday, March 29 after police located a red Toyota Corolla hatch at Barrington East Road, Barrington at 11.15am on Thursday, March 26.

Manning Great Lakes officers extracted the car from the water with the assistance of state emergency services. No person was located inside the vehicle.

The car is believed to have been owned by a 78-year-old woman, Adele Morrison, who was reported missing by family members on March 17.

She was last seen leaving her home in Port Macquarie about 6am on Tuesday, March 16 to travel to Gloucester. Investigations have revealed Adele attended a shopping centre at Gloucester about 10.45am the same day.

Her movements after this remain unknown and she has not been heard from since. It is also out of character for Adele not to have made contact with family members.

Adele is described as being of Caucasian appearance, between 150cm to 160cm tall, with a medium build, grey hair and hazel eyes.

She is known to frequent the Gloucester, Maclean, Nabiac, Berrico and Barrington Tops areas.

Anyone who may have seen or heard from Adele, or who may have seen a red Toyota Camry with registration DSN 47R on the Mid North Coast is urged to contact police immediately.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au