NEW ORLEANS — Update: The family of a missing woman in New Orleans says she was found safely on Friday, March 15, nearly a week after her reported disappearance.
An Arkansas family is desperately searching for a New Orleans woman who was scheduled to be in Texas for medical care on Tuesday.
According to the woman's mother, soon-to-be 54-year-old (March 21) daughter Melissa Lynch Joly has not been heard from since Saturday.
In a missing person announcement issued on Thursday, the New Orleans Police Department said Joly was last seen with her dog inside a silver SUV parked in a lot between the Audubon Zoo and Mississippi River levee known locally as the "The Fly."
Joly's mother, Linda Lynch said the disappearance is not typical of her daughter.
"Somebody has done something with her," Lynch told WWL Louisiana on Friday. "I can feel it."
Lynch and her husband sent Joly money to travel to Houston to have a brace removed from her leg. She said she sent enough money to get Joly a place to stay, as she has been living in her car after a disagreement with friends she was temporarily staying with.
"We gave her enough money to get to Houston for treatment and a place to stay while I come down from Hot Springs to take care of her," Lynch explained. "But we have not heard from her since."
Lynch said attempts to call have gone unanswered, and that Joly's voicemail was full – that was until Thursday.
"The mailbox on her phone has been full all week," she said. "Yesterday, Melissa's best friend told me it was empty, so we both left messages but have not heard back."
The NOPD released an image of Joly provided by her family. The photo shows Joly snuggled up next to her pit bull Rou Rou, which police say was with her when she was last seen.
An image of her Acura SUV with Arkansas license "ACR 35L" was also provided.
Lynch confirmed that was Joly's vehicle.
Anyone with information about Melissa Lynch Joly is asked to call Sixth District detectives at 504-658-6060.
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