Authorities in upstate New York are searching for a college student who disappeared under mysterious circumstances last month.
Jessica "Jessie" Ronhock, a 21-year-old nursing major at Elmira College in upstate New York, was one day into her second term of her junior year when she suddenly left her on-campus apartment on Jan. 10. According to Sgt. Scott Packard of the Elmira City Police Department, Ronhock told her roommate there was a "family emergency" and she had to return home to Mashpee, Mass.
Roughly one week later, Ronhock's parents contacted their daughter's roommate to check on her. They said they last spoke with their daughter on Jan. 12, that they knew nothing of any emergency, and that they were unaware their daughter had left college, police said. They also said it was out of character for their daughter not to be in regular contact with family and friends, police said.
Ronhock's parents reported her missing to police on Jan. 19. Authorities have since discovered that her 2000 white Jeep Cherokee is also missing.
"We're doing anything we can to help the police. We've given them access to her room and her computer, any network share stuff that we have on our hard drivers in terms of electronic communications. We've interviewed and talked to all the folks from the ROTC...because she's an ROTC student," Mike Rogers, an Elmira College spokesman, told WETM-TV.
Authorities have confirmed Ronhock was at a KOA campground in Chattahoochee, Fla., from Jan. 12 to Jan. 14. Credit card records place her in Baytown, Texas, on Jan. 15 and in Williams, Ariz., on Jan. 16. She used her credit card in Cameron and Kayenta, Ariz., on Jan. 18.
"There's been nothing since the 18th," Packard told The Huffington Post. "We have followed up on a couple dead leads and unconfirmed sightings."
According to police, Ronhock's family received a private journal from her on Jan. 22 that was mailed from Williams, Ariz., which is roughly 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon. "Writings in the journal were of a disheartening nature," reads a press release from Deputy Chief Robert Smallcomb.
"She had some things going on, but to say that she was suicidal -- most suicidal people won't go to the effort to travel across the country," Packard said. "But the suspicion [has arisen] with the sudden drop off in credit card activity, no sightings and no contact."
Packard said there is also a possibility that Ronhock, while on some sort of self-discovery trip, could have met with foul play.
"It's definitely a possibility in this case -- [that] she went out there to clear her head and gather herself and something's happened since then," Packard said.
Meanwhile, Ronhock's friends and family members have created a Facebook campaign to help locate her. They are encouraging members to share information and pass out downloadable fliers. As of Monday, nearly 500 people had joined the "Find Jessie Ronhock" group.
Ronhock is described as a white female, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a rose on her left (some reports say right) shoulder and a butterfly tattoo on her right hip.
Authorities have described Ronhock's vehicle as a white Jeep Cherokee, with Massachusetts license plate 66JX98. There are numerous bumper stickers on the back of the vehicle and a sticker on the upper center of the tailgate that reads, "MASSHOLE."
Anyone with information about Ronhock's whereabouts is asked to call City of Elmira Police at 607-737-5610
READ THE FLYER AND PRESS RELEASE:
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