Allison Cope, a North Carolina Starbucks employee who went missing last week, has been found, safe and sound, in Virginia Beach, nearly 200 miles away, WRAL (Raleigh) is reporting .
Cope, 24, had gone missing from the Starbucks at Terminal 2 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where she worked as a supervisor. Co-workers say she clocked out for a break at 3:00 p.m. but did not return. By 7:00 p.m., after co-workers hadn’t seen her for four hours, they reported her missing.
Investigators working Cope’s case found more questions than answers. Searching her lock, authorities determined that Cope left the airport with only her keys and her debit card, leaving behind her bag containing her I.D., money, and other important belongings.
Later, video footage turned up of Cope at a Shell gas station in the Durham area, time-stamped at 4:15 p.m. Friends would later notice two things about the video that gave them pause. First, she had pulled up to the gas station with the gas pump on the opposite side of her car from the tank – a mistake she was not known to make. Further, says Sarah Kosinski-Cope, even in the grainy surveillance footage it was obvious that Allison was in distress.
“That look on her face, it won’t leave my mind.”
Allison Cope’s friend claims the 24-year-old has been found and is under medical care. We are still waiting for confirmation from police. pic.twitter.com/GYJZc2Uo0G
— David Hurst (@DHurstWNCN) July 2, 2017
On Saturday, however, Allison was found alive and well by police in Virginia Beach, Virginia – about 200 miles away from Raleigh-Durham.
As WNCN (Raleigh) reports, details are scarce about how, why, when, or where Allison was found. All that is known for certain at this time is that she was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital, where she was placed “under medical care.”
Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in VA Beach confirms Allison Cope is in the ER there now. No word on her condition at this point. @WNCN pic.twitter.com/DZsX1kQDtn
— Kelly Kennedy (@KellyEKennedyTV) July 2, 2017
As of Sunday afternoon, she was reported to be in good condition.
It is unclear, as of this writing, how or why Cope went missing. She is not believed to be a victim of a crime; however, neither Cope’s friends or family, nor authorities in either Raleigh or Virginia Beach, are giving any information as to how or why she made her way to Virginia Beach.
This is a developing story. More information about Allison Cope’s disappearance and recovery will be published as it becomes available.
[Featured Image by Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police Department/FBI]
