ST. GEORGE — Family members of a Southern Utah woman missing for almost three months are sending out another public plea for help.
On Jan. 8, the St. George Police Department shared a missing person post on social media for Courtney Lynne Townsend, 32, reporting the woman had been missing since late last year.
The Facebook alert alleges Townsend stole her mother’s car on Nov. 16, 2023. Police said the car was found in Kane County a few days after she went missing.
On Tuesday, Tiffany Mitchell, public information officer for the St. George Police Department, confirmed to St. George News that Townsend is still missing and officers are investigating all leads.
“She is still missing and has been added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,” she said. “Or NamUs.”
Townsend’s sister, Dallas Jimenez, told St. George News that Townsend is known to be very social.
“That’s the scary part, she is very social,” she said. “She can’t not be around other people. She went from talking to our parents every day to nothing — for months.”
Jimenez said if her mother had reported the car as stolen earlier, the current situation could have been different.
“She was stopped by the police but my mom hadn’t reported the car as stolen,” she said. “She was worried about turning her own daughter in.”
The car was found at a campsite on Cedar Mountain — only not in the condition when her mother last saw the vehicle, Jimenez said.
“It was crispy,” she said. “At least that is what we heard, someone had set it on fire.”
Jimenez said she and her mother just want answers. Although they were not in her custody at the time she went missing, Townsend is also a mother of two “that were her whole world,” her sister said.
“Our dad was sick before she went missing and he passed away since she was last seen,” Jimenez said. “I don’t know what else to do, where else to go. But I will never stop looking. I’m her sister.”
Police say Townsend recently changed hair color from green to brown before the family reported her missing. She is listed as 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 110 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes on the missing persons report.
According to NamUs, Townsend has “Love” tattooed on her left wrist, “Fear” on her right wrist, “Independence” on her left hip, “Dalton” on her right foot, flames and crosses on her abdomen and cherries on her chest.
Anyone with information regarding Townsend’s whereabouts is urged to call the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300 and refer to case number 23P032456.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.