Michelle Reynolds: Missing teacher feared drowned in Mississippi found
Update: Following her disappearance on September 22, Michelle Reynolds, 48, has been reunited with her family safely, according to the sheriff's office.
Reynolds' husband Michael confirmed the discovery of his wife to WDSU 6's Bun Choum. An individual she was eating with recognized her face from the news and approached local authorities.His wife was identified living among the city's homeless population.
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ALVIN, TEXAS: As the search operation for a missing woman, identified as Michelle Townsend Reynolds and who has not been heard since Thursday, September 22, has intensified, her husband has disclosed his last conversation with her. Michael told KHOU-11, “She said that she was going to get something to eat and she never returned.” Meanwhile, a helicopter has been deployed in her search in the Mississippi River.
The worried husband of the 48-year-old woman, who is a teacher at Fairview Junior High in Alvin, also said that he and his brother found her SUV in which she left with the help of the geo-location device installed in the car, but they could not find her. He added, “We were able to unlock the car and found that her personal items were still in the vehicle but she was not in the vehicle. Her phone has not been used. Her phone was in the car. Her phone did have charge but it was turned off.”
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Amid this chaos, surveillance footage showing Michelle in Louisiana’s New Orleans, more than 500 miles away from her home, has surfaced. The clip showed her parking her vehicle — the Lexus RX 300 — at a business on Friday, September 23. Along with Brazoria County police, Texas EquuSearch is also working relentlessly to find Michelle. The search group spoke about the footage as Tim Miller said, “We did get surveillance of her actually parking her car on Saint Peters Street at 12:01 pm Friday afternoon and then kind of what direction she was walking. Saint Peters Street is pretty close to the Mississippi River.”
Soon after the video, the group began looking near the banks of the Mississippi and the river using a helicopter. Miller stated, “We’re flying probably about 20 miles down the river, low flying. We’ve had a lot of success recovering victims with the helicopter.”
The teacher’s husband has also reportedly seen the video. He said, “We know that Michelle was confused. There’s some things that were going on. In the beginning we were wondering was she carjacked? Is something else happening? Until we got that surveillance and yes, she parked at 12:01 pm, got out of her car, and started walking. So we know now that foul play did not happen from point A to point B. Hopefully, she’s confused, and she’s wandering around over there and somebody's going to see her, and we’re going to get her back safe. That’s certainly the goal.”
Michael also went on to explain that his and Michelle’s children have not been keeping well as their mother has not been found. He mentioned, “I am heading back to Houston now because I have three children. My daughter is having a really tough time and so is my 13-year-old daughter and my 11-year-old son as well. Please be on the lookout for Michelle. We love her and miss her dearly. We're doing everything we can to bring her home safe.”
Meanwhile, the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office has urged people to inform them if they have any information about Michelle. The informants can call 979-864-2392 or the New Orleans Police at 504-821-2222. In a statement, Alvin Independent School District said, “The safety and security of our students and staff is of the utmost importance to Alvin ISD.”
“We were made aware that one of our employees, Michelle Reynolds, has not been heard from since Thursday afternoon. Alvin ISD has reached out to the Reynolds family and has been assisting the family during this difficult time. If you have any information, please contact the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office,” it added.
Besides, a Facebook user named Oscardelrina Georgette posted online, “Michelle Townsend Reynolds, if you can see this post, please call someone. We need for you to come home. 😢.”