Courtney Roland , a Texas sports reporter who went missing in Houston over the weekend, has been found safe, police say.
Roland, a 29-year-old who works for AggieYell.com, the Rivals site for Texas A&M, was reported missing on Sunday under suspicious circumstances.
A poster on the message board at AggieYell.com wrote that he was driving in the Galleria area and saw a blond woman at a restaurant that looked like Roland. He stopped and asked her if she was Courtney and then called 911 when she said she was. Police have not confirmed those details.
“Thank Jesus! Courtney Roland has been found by the Houston Police. Thank you to everybody for your prayers and please respect the family at this time,” her friend and colleague Brian Perroni wrote on Twitter Monday morning. She was found about 8:30 a.m.
Another colleague, Mark Passwaters, wrote on Twitter, “Courtney has been found! Don’t have more details that, but she’s alive and kicking! Great job @houstonpolice!”
Friends and family grew concerned about Roland after she stopped responding to messages early Sunday morning. She had last communicated with her roommates about having been followed home from a Walgreens by a “suspicious man” in a blue truck. She said in a text message that she had gotten out of her SUV and the truck drove off. Roland was supposed to meet her friends after that, but never did.
Perroni, a recruiting insider for 247Sports, tweeted that Roland was spotted in the Houston Galleria shopping center area late Sunday afternoon. She was wearing camo fleece with an orange Remington hat.
He tweeted that her “Car, purse, wallet, phone all found in Houston Galleria area. She’s still likely in camo fleece and orange Remington. Was seen as late as 5:45 Sunday afternoon.” He said her belongings were not all found in the same place, and are now in possession of the police.
“Nobody has a clue where she is, which is completely out of character. She also has no ID, credit card, cash, etc,” he tweeted. Nothing was taken from her purse or car, but it was not all located in the same place. Some of her belongings were in her SUV, while others were inside the mall and stores.
Police said on Twitter, “We do have Ms. Roland’s vehicle, a white Jeep, found by officers overnight in a parking lot at 5006 Westheimer. Her phone and other items were inside the vehicle. Her purse was found at a nearby business. Information obtained in our investigation thus far indicates Ms. Roland was last seen about 5:40 p.m. on Sunday (Jan 7) walking alone in a store in the mall. Anyone who has seen her since that time is encouraged to call our Missing Persons Unit 832-394-1840.”
Roland graduated from Texas A&M in 2010 with a degree in communications and journalism, according to her website. She is a Texas native and attended Klein High School in Harris County.
Roland has been working for Rivals since 2008 as a reporter, videographer and editor, covering Texas A&M football, national recruiting and high school sports, according to her website. She worked for KPRC-TV as an intern in 2010, and has also been a sideline reporter for Texas A&M radio broadcasts and as a reporter for Fox Sports Southwest. Roland started covering Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel when he was in high school.
Roland’s disappearance spread quickly on social media as members of the sports journalism world spread photos and pleas for help finding her. Roland’s name was trending on Twitter Monday morning.
Police have not yet provided any details about the case.
