Courtney Roland, a 29-year-old Houston, Texas-based sports reporter who raised great community concern when she briefly went missing earlier this month, has publicly released a statement for the first time since her disappearance and recovery.
On Jan. 7, Roland’s roommate reported her missing after receiving a text saying that she thought she was being followed by a man in a blue truck while driving home from a Walgreens. She was last heard from by her family on Sunday at 1am, but he phone died shortly after.
That weekend, across Twitter and Facebook, concerned Texans shared posts calling for Roland’s return, providing information that hopefully would allow a bystander to identify her and alert the police.
Our friend and colleague @Rivals, Courtney Roland, is currently missing in the Houston area. If you have any information or have seen her at all, please contact the HPD missing person line at 832-394-1840. pic.twitter.com/66kKDPenRT
— Matt Clare 🌵 (@MattClareRivals) January 8, 2018
According to Houston Police Department’s timeline of events via KHOU, Roland was seen in the Houston Galleria mall area around 2pm Sunday; her purse was found at a Starbucks inside the Galleria at 11pm that same day; and her car was found in the Galleria area on Monday at 12:30am. At around 8:15am on Monday, a Chick-fil-A customer in the Galleria area called police after identifying Roland inside the restaurant. Houston police then picked Roland up and transported her to a hospital.
At the time of Roland’s discovery, police said the believed Roland’s behavior was caused by a reaction to medication.
In a photo of a note written and posted to Twitter on Jan. 15, Roland said she had been released from the Houston Methodist Medical Center after five days of testing, and that doctors found she suffered an “adverse reaction” to her prescription medication. However, she said she’s doing better and looks forward to returning to her position covering Texas A&M football when the time is right.
She then thanked the hospital staff for their care and support, and the Houston police for their efforts in finding her.
“My family and I are so appreciative of the kindness and thoughtfulness my friends and so many of you showed me,” Roland wrote. “I wish I could thank each of you in person.”
Read Roland’s full message below:
Thank you all for your prayers! pic.twitter.com/wbFA68BBfK
— Courtney Faye Roland (@CourtneyRivals) January 15, 2018
H/T New York Post