UPDATE: Missing Disabled Woman Found Safe
A missing developmentally disabled Colorado Springs woman has been found safe after she wasn’t seen for nearly 36 hours.
Police said Jessica Kuykendall, 26, reunited with her parents around 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Stetson Hills police substation. An officer brought her to the substation at 6:15 p.m., police said, after she was found in south Colorado Springs — several miles from where she disappeared Monday.
Police gave no details about Jessica’s return, saying only that the investigation continues and “we have a lot of things to sift through.”
Jessica’s father, Jeff, told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that medical personnel evaluated her and said she is fine. He briefly thanked everyone who helped in the search before the family went home. Earlier on Tuesday, Jessica’s parents pleaded for the public?s help.
Jessica’s parents said they dropped her off at the Goodwill near Powers Boulevard and Constitution Avenue on Monday morning. Although developmentally disabled, she’s described as “fully functional” by her mother.
Janis Kuykendall said when they returned to Goodwill to pick up their daughter after her shift was completed, Jessica was not there.
?The people at Goodwill said that she had a dentist appointment and wouldn?t be back for the day. That?s the last time we saw her, the last time we heard from her,? said Janis Kuykendall.
Janis Kuykendall said there was no dentist appointment scheduled for her daughter Monday, and told KRDO Newchannel 13 that this is the first time she has not known where her daughter was.
Janis Kuykendall said Kuykendall?s cellphone had died sometime Monday afternoon. Before this happened, Janis Kuykendall said she was informed by the police of a series of text messages exchanged between Kuykendall and a woman believed to be a former employee of Goodwill.
Police have not released the context of those messages. According to Jeff Kuykendall, police searched the home of the woman, but ?to no avail.?
Janis Kuykendall said she hoped the messages would reveal clues, leading to the Jessica’s safe return.
?She?s sweet, she gets along with everybody. She?s very vulnerable, too. That?s why I (was) afraid somebody (had) talked her into something,? said Janis Kuykendall.
