Missing mum found in shipping container three days after being trapped inside

10 March 2024 , 09:57

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Marlene Lopez was last seen at her home in Florida before she was found (Image: Cocoa Police Department)

A Florida mum was missing for days before she was found inside a shipping container after furiously banging on the door - with one man claiming she walked into the unit and passed out.

Marlene Lopez, 52, was last seen on Monday before she was eventually discovered on Thursday in the container on Coco Boulevard, owned by Tyler Sonnenberg who had locked the unit days earlier on Tuesday saying he heard no noise coming from inside.

Mr Sonnenberg told local station WKMG that he first saw Ms Lopez in the area on Monday, walking around. Saying he did not hear any noise on Wednesday Mr Sonnenberg said he thinks the mother walked into the container and passed out.

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She was found next to a business on Cocoa Boulevard (Google Maps)

Police said Ms Lopez was ''not injured, but was taken to the hospital for evaluation and possible dehydration.'' On Thursday Cocoa Police Department said in a Facebook statement that Ms Lopez was found inside the locked unit used to store lawnmowers. “During the course of the investigation, detectives were notified that the woman had been found. She had been banging on the door of the shipping container when someone heard her and unlocked the door,”

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Ms Lopez was reported as missing two days after she failed to turn up to pick up her son from school. Police said they are still investigating how Ms Lopez ended up inside the locked unit after searching for the woman for three days. Ms Lopez was last seen before she went missing at her home on Lucerne Drive.

She was trapped inside a shipping container

A coworker eventually called police concerned for her wellbeing after she failed to pick up her son. Detectives responded and began to check known locations, interviewed family members, and issued a missing person bulletin.

“She’d been in there since Monday night — that’s what we believe,” Cocoa police spokesperson Yvonne Martinez said. "Lopez wasn't in a good enough frame of mind for us to speak with her and obtain useful information."

Ms Martinez went on to say that the owners of the shipping containers had locked up the storage facility for the night without realizing anyone was inside. “So it appears to be a case of wrong place, wrong time,” Ms Martinez said to WESH, “and nobody knew she was in there, so today, she started banging on the side walls and door of the shipping container. Someone fortunately heard her and that's how we were able to get to her."

No accusations have been made as of yet, and police currently continue to look into how Ms Lopez got into the container.

Emilia Randall