Columbus police continued their search Sunday for two more women who were reported missing on separate occasions, even though one of the missing women had been located.
On June 14 it was reported that 18-year-old Riley O’Connell had gone missing after she hopped a fence at Evoke Wellness on Scioto Darby Road in Hilliard. According to her mother, Shaunna O’Connell, the mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts, she had been battling long-term mental health concerns and was undergoing therapy at the facility for about a month before she went without her crucial medication.
Hilliard police told The Dispatch that Columbus police located Riley O’Connell between 5 and 6 p.m. on Sunday. According to a snapshot of information and a photo uploaded by Shaunna O’Connell on Facebook, she was sent for medical care to Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
However, as of 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, two additional women in unconnected cases were still missing. One of them is an Ohio State student who police and family say has mental health difficulties.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Columbus police remained on the lookout Sunday for three women reported missing in unrelated cases, including one who fled a treatment facility in Hilliard and was last seen in the Franklinton area.
https://t.co/PeyenarD00— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) June 18, 2023
The facts are as follows:
Lori Marie Dougherty
On Monday, June 12 at 5:39 a.m., Dougherty, 64, was reported missing. She was last seen in her home in the 1600 block of Sandhurst Road, which is north of East Dublin-Granville Road and east of Lynnhurst Road off Sharon Woods Boulevard.
The police have not received any new information or sightings about Dougherty. Dougherty is a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she stands at 5 feet 7 inches and weighs around 120 pounds.
Amina Alhaj-Omar
Sister reported Alhaj-Omar, 25, missing from Columbus’ North Side on the evening of June 10. She is a graduate social work student at Ohio State University. It has been reported by the police that Alhaj-Omar is in danger due to a possible mental health crisis.
Two kitchen knives are thought to be in her possession. Alhaj-Omar’s car was discovered abandoned on I-270 on the morning of June 10 between the exits for I-71 and State Route 23.
It appeared as though the car had been in a minor collision, but the airbags had not deployed, and the police found no trace that she had been hurt. On the morning of June 10 at 3:55 a.m., Alhaj-Omar was spotted by police at the BP gas station convenience store located at 1091 S.
High St. on the city’s South Side. Alhaj-Omar was seen leaving the gas station premises at roughly 6 a.m. on June 10 on surveillance video from the convenience store.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Lt. Jason Gardner described Alhaj-Omar’s actions inside the gas station as “very unusual,” without providing any further specifics beyond the fact that she was carrying two kitchen knives.
Later that morning, about 8:20 a.m. on June 10, police received a call regarding a female trespasser at the Olen Corporation’s Columbus facility and quarry located at 4755 S. High St. Before the cops could come, she fled.
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A possible, unverified sighting of Alhaj-Omar was reported at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, so police searched the area near the Walmart at 3579 S. High St., the Olen plant and quarry, and the surrounding region. The Division of Police sent a dive team to assist with the search at the quarry.
Drones from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department have also undertaken aerial searches. The police have characterized Alhaj-Omar as a white woman, 5’2″, 135 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
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