Police in Missouri are searching for a 23-year-old ballet dancer after her car was found abandoned in a state park.
Missouri State Highway Patrol in a press release issued on Tuesday asked for the public's help in locating Raffaella Maria Stroik, whose car was found in a parking lot near a boat ramp in Mark Twain Lake State Park on Monday.
The park is located about 130 miles northwest of St. Louis.
Officers found no missing persons report had been filed for Stroik. But when police returned and found her car—a black 2012 VW Jetta—was still in the same place on Tuesday, they launched an investigation into her whereabouts.
Police soon determined Stroik was missing, and on Tuesday appealed for information from the public to help their search. Officers are continuing to search the area where the car was found.
Stroik is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs approximately 115 pounds, said police. She has brown hair and brown eyes and normally wears her hair in a ponytail or a braid.
She was last seen at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Monday at Whole Foods Market, 1160 Town and Country Crossing Drive, Town and Country, a western suburb of St. Louis.
When last seen she had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing an olive-green jacket, long pink scarf, navy colored pants with white zippers on the sides, and white tennis shoes.
On Twitter, friends appealed for anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts to come forward.
My best friend is missing. Her name is Raffaella Stroik and they found her car abandoned, unlocked with her phone inside by Mark Twain Lake 2 hours from her apartment in St. Louis, MO. PLEASE Twitter, help us save her life! Raffaella we love you so much ❤️ PLEASE PRAY pic.twitter.com/vfvRgFXk2J
— Kait (@kaitdelledonne) November 13, 2018
KSDK reported that Stroik joined St. Louis ballet in 2017. She is also a member of the St. Louis Young Adults, a Catholic youth organisation. She is a 2013 graduate of South Bend St. Joseph High School and also attended Indiana University, reported WTHR.
In a statement, the St. Louis Young Adults said "Raffaella is a member of the Cathedral parish and active in Anima Christi. We ask you all to please pray for Raffaella's safe return and to please privately share any information you may have about where she may be. "
I need your help. My friend’s older sister went missing yesterday morning. She left her car by the Mark Twain Lake State Park at the Highway 107 boat ramp. Her name is Raffaella Maria Stroik and she is 23 years old. Please retweet in hopes that this gets to St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/U93MwG94Mp
— Emma Haigh (@emloveslivvy) November 14, 2018
The Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators are being assisted by representatives of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Conservation, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Monroe City Fire Department, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Monroe City Ambulance District.
Anyone with information on the location of Stroik is asked to call the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 660-385-2132.
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