Vineland Elementary School teacher Elizabeth Ann Vaughn, 57, of De Soto is getting help with “some personal issues,” following a communitywide search for her Monday (Feb. 9), after she didn’t show up for work and school staff reported her missing, De Soto Police Detective Rick Draper says.
De Soto Police found Vaughn between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday sitting in a damaged car parked on the side of the road at I-55 and Hwy. TT in the Festus area, Draper said.
“The car was towed from the scene, and she refused medical treatment,” he said. “She had no signs of injuries or signs of intoxication. She just seemed like she had had a day, and she’s getting the attention she needs now.”
Vaughn had last been seen about 3 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 8), after she celebrated her birthday with lunch with her mother and stepfather at the Pasta House in Festus, took them to Vineland Elementary to look at some family photos on a computer at her workplace, and then dropped them off at their De Soto home, Draper said.
Vaughn went home and then the next morning, at about 8 a.m., she decided to drive to Cape Girardeau, where she had attended college, Draper said.
“She has some personal issues she’s going through, and she decided the best way to deal with them was to go back to her roots. She attended college in Cape, so she went there and had a day there,” he said. “She was off the grid, so to speak, and didn’t want to communicate with anyone.
“Sometime on her ride back from Cape and the time we found her at I-55 and Hwy. TT, she may have went off the roadway and possibly struck a sign and caused minimal damage to the vehicle. It was somewhat drivable, but when officers arrived there, she had a couple of flat tires, so we didn’t let her drive like that.”
Draper said police eventually were able to get AT&T, after struggling with another cell phone service provider, to give them the location of Vaughn’s cell phone and that’s how they found her.
When officers showed up at I-55 and Hwy. TT where Vaughn was parked, she was on the phone with her brother, who told her police and community members were searching for her, Draper said.
“Now she regrets it happened the way that it did,” he said. “She didn’t want to cause alarm to anyone. She didn’t want the attention.”
The De Soto Police Department posted information about the missing woman on its website, which reached more than 100,000 people all across the country, Draper said.
“We had an outpouring of support; the community was actively involved in looking for her. They were actively concerned, and we had tons of people out looking for her,” he said. “Our phones rang all day long.”
Vaughn was “overwhelmed” to learn about all the people who were looking for her, Draper added.
“She was regretful that she made the decisions she did, and she couldn’t stop apologizing,” he said. “She was very appreciative of the outpouring of support and humbled by the fact that so many people cared.”
Draper said no charges will be sought against her.
“She has every right to leave and not tell anyone,” he said.
Draper said Vineland Elementary staff did the right thing by reporting Vaughn missing since it was unusual for her to not show up for work, especially without calling to say she would be absent.
“I’ve got to give it to Vineland. It takes a good employer to know there may be a problem and because of them we were able to help her,” Draper said. “She expects to be back teaching as soon as she possibly can.”
Vaughn teaches kindergarten and has worked for the De Soto School District for 14 years.