GLENCOE, Ala. (WIAT) — The car of a woman who disappeared nearly three years ago has now been found.
On Wednesday, a blue 2019 Kia Optima belonging to Lorene Virginia Collier, 84, was found in the woods of off Scrougeout Drive in the Black Creek community . According to Capt. Josh Morgan of the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, the car was discovered after a group of hunters were walking through the area and saw the vehicle.
Glencoe Police Chief Kenon McKenzie said that inside the car was Collier’s wallet, which contained her driver’s license. Morgan said that human remains had been found near the car, but have not been positively identified yet, although they believe it to be her.
McKenzie said the area where she was found was outside of where they thought she could’ve been and had not previously searched there beforehand.
Collier was last seen March 5, 2019, in Glencoe and was on her way to Gadsden. In an interview with CBS 42 in 2019, Collier’s granddaughter, Christina Mineo, said Collier had traveled from her home in Tampa, Florida to Glencoe, Alabama to visit her brother on his birthday. From there, she set off for Gadsden, but never arrived.
“She went missing somewhere between here and there and we’re not sure if she’s lost or someone got her or what,” Mineo told CBS 42 in 2019.
At the time, police said Collier did not have her medication with her when she disappeared and that she may have had a condition that could impair her judgment.
Morgan said that as of Thursday, foul play is not suspected, but they are still investigating the case.
During a press conference Friday, Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton thanked the community and the hunters for find Collier’s car.
“Without this group of hunters reporting what they found, we would still be missing Ms. Collier’s vehicle today, so that is very, very important,” Horton said.
Samantha Cummings, Collier’s granddaughter, spoke on behalf of the family Friday, where she thanked the community and those on social media for bringing awareness to the case and working to try and find her.
“The support we’ve had from the community has been amazing and we could not be where we are today without their support,” Cummings said.
Speaking about her grandmother, Cummings said Collier was “everybody’s grandmother” who was kind and deeply cared about her family.
“Everybody has adopted her as their grandmother and for that, we’ll be forever grateful,” she said.
Cummings said the last three years have been indescribable for the family and that emotions have run high and low. With this latest discovery, those emotions remain high
“We’re still navigating the grieving process,” she said. “There really aren’t words for how we feel.”