Never giving up saves your life.
Police say someone heard a missing Florida mother banging on the locked door of a shipping container after a co-worker reported her missing.
Cocoa Police Department said in a Facebook statement that Marlene Lopez, 52, was found trapped in a shipping container next to a business on Cocoa Boulevard.
She was last seen Monday at her home and was reported missing Wednesday after a concerned co-worker called police and said she had failed to pick up her son, according to authorities.
“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,” police said.
Tyler Sonnenberg, who owns the shipping container, told local station WKMG that he first saw Lopez walking around the area on Monday. He said he locked the container, which is used to store lawnmowers, on Tuesday afternoon and did not hear any noise on Wednesday, according to the news station.
Sonnenberg said he thinks Lopez walked into the unit on her own and passed out. He told the station that he was not at fault for Lopez getting stuck inside the container.
Police said they are still investigating how Lopez ended up inside the container.
Per the WKGM report, In addition to being evaluated for possible dehydration, the department said she was not injured.
Police said Lopez’s family last saw her Monday, and she was reported missing after a coworker called to report she didn’t pick up her son.
“Detectives responded and began to check known locations, interviewed family members, and issued a missing person bulletin. 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,” the department said.
This could have ended so badly, and it’s nice to see a happy ending.