The Bizarre Disappearance of This College Football Reporter Resulted in a Crazed 36-Hour Search
“She doesn’t remember everything.”
Courtney Roland, a 29-year-old reporter in Houston, was found by police in a Chick-fil-A Monday morning, ending a bizarre 36-hour search that was aided by high profile sports figures across the country.
Roland first went missing on Saturday evening after attending a high school football function. At around 5:30pm she texted her roommate that a suspicious man was following her in a blue truck.
Then she fell off the radar until late Saturday night when her mother received cryptic text from Roland’s phone. “hello the owner of this phone Courtney. I am buying an iPad,” it said.
On Sunday, police scoured Houston for the Rivals.com reporter. She was reportedly spotted at the Galleria, an upscale mall in Houston on Sunday afternoon and then her purse was found there on Sunday night. All the while, people like Dana White, Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King and ESPN’s Sam Ponder pitched in to help.
Houston need your help! Courtney Roland was last seen the evening of 1/6 in the Heights. She texted her roommate she was being followed by suspicious man in a blue truck. She was driving a '15 Silver Jeep Cherokee Plate HZC7778. PLEASE call HPD missing person 832-394-1840 w/ info pic.twitter.com/OvdGIEz4tq
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 8, 2018
Anyone in Houston area, please pay attention to this plea for a woman, Courtney Roland, who is missing. Details here. https://t.co/VNEIQBLKXr
— Peter King (@peter_king) January 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/sam_ponder/status/950208056075276288
#HelpFindCourtney https://t.co/LNUNsG1HBk
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 8, 2018
On Monday morning, all those appeals worked. Police found Roland unharmed and she was taken “to an area hospital for an evaluation,” they said in a statement.
In a press conference Monday, police said Roland was having trouble remembering what happened. “She doesn’t remember everything,” office Manny Cruz said. “I think in her state of confusion she kind of lost track of time.” He added that she wasn’t aware that people were looking for her.
As for what happened, police aren’t saying much, except that Roland is thought to have had a bad reaction to a medication. Police said Monday they still don’t know what Roland was doing while she was missing, but they think she was looking for her phone, which was in her car the entire time.
“We believe she was looking for her phone, but because she was in a confused state, she wasn’t thinking straight. She came back to the Galleria area, parked her car, and wandered off,” Capt. Mark Lentini said Monday.