Current:Home > MyPolice say a Virginia mom, her 3 kids are missing. Her husband says he's not concerned.-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Police say a Virginia mom, her 3 kids are missing. Her husband says he's not concerned.
View Date:2025-01-11 10:22:41
Police are searching for a Virginia woman and her three children considered missing for about two weeks, though her husband has told a local TV station that his family is fine.
Lauren Elizabeth Cook, 30, was last seen with her three children at the the family's Ferrum home in southwest Virginia at the end of August, and she last spoke with her mother around Sept. 5, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
Her children are: 2-year-old Elijah, 5-year-old Hannah and 7-year-old Benjamin.
Here's what we know:
Police hunt for ex-NFL player:Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown missing after his mother killed near Chicago-area home
Unsuccessful communication
When Cook's mother last spoke with her daughter on the phone, she said that she and the children were in New York visiting family, sheriff's Sgt. Megan Huston told USA TODAY on Tuesday.
She said that Cook's bank account has had no recent activity and that her cellphone last pinged on Sept. 7 in Lexington, Virginia, about 90 miles northeast of the home she shares with her husband and children in Ferrum, a rural area in the Blue Ridge Mountains with about 2,100 residents.
"Communication efforts with Lauren have been unsuccessful," the sheriff's office posted on its Facebook page on Sept. 13, releasing photos of the family and asking the public for help to find them.
As of Tuesday all three children were listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website.
They may be traveling in a 2013 blue Chrysler van with a Virginia license plate, the non-profit said.
Cops say man faked death to avoid court:'Missing' kayaker faked Louisiana drowning death to avoid child-sex charges
Father: 'I have no reason to be concerned'
Jordan Cook, Lauren Cook's husband and the father of their children, could not be reached by USA TODAY on Tuesday.
But he told WSET-TV that he has heard from his wife since she's been considering missing.
"Contrary to what has been reported, my wife and children are not 'missing,'" the husband said in a statement to the outlet. "I have no reason to be concerned about their safety or well-being. I have heard from my wife, and I'm sure she and my children are doing well. We ask that our family's privacy be respected at this time."
'Still entered as missing'
Despite Jordan Cook's comments, Huston said that the search for the mother and children continues.
"If the husband has had contact with Lauren since then, we aren’t aware of it," Huston said Tuesday. "Lauren Cook and the three children are still entered as missing. Law enforcement (wherever it may be) has to lay eyes on her and the children in order for them to be removed as missing from the system."
Anyone with information about the missing family is asked to contact the Franklin County Sheriff's Office or their local law enforcement agency.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.
veryGood! (927)
Related
- Diamond Sports Group will offer single-game pricing to stream NBA and NHL games starting next month
- It Ends With Us Author Colleen Hoover Teases What's Changed from Book to Movie
- Quick! Banana Republic Factory’s Extra 40% Sale Won’t Last Long, Score Chic Classics Starting at $11
- Kathie Lee Gifford Hospitalized With Fractured Pelvis
- Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
- One Extraordinary Olympic Photo: David J. Phillip captures swimming from the bottom of the pool
- 3 inmates dead and at least 9 injured in rural Nevada prison ‘altercation,’ officials say
- Is This TikTok-Viral Lip Liner Stain Worth the Hype? See Why One E! Writer Thinks So
- Teachers in 3 Massachusetts communities continue strike over pay, paid parental leave
- 2024 Olympics: Simone Biles Reveals USA Gymnastics’ Real Team Name After NSFW Answer
Ranking
- Jennifer Garner Details Navigating Grief 7 Months After Death of Her Dad William Garner
- Man shot and killed in ambush outside Philadelphia mosque, police say
- Team USA men's soccer is going to the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years
- Megan Thee Stallion set to appear at Kamala Harris Atlanta campaign rally
- The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
- El Chapo’s son pleads not guilty to narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges
- How Rugby Star Ilona Maher Became a Body Positivity Queen at the Olympics
- Green Day setlist: All the Saviors Tour songs
Recommendation
-
Mandy Moore Captures the Holiday Vibe With These No Brainer Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Must-Haves
-
Florida county approves deal to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium
-
Baseball's best bullpen? Tanner Scott trade huge for Padres at MLB deadline
-
City lawyers offer different view about why Chicago police stopped man before fatal shooting
-
Shawn Mendes Confesses He and Camila Cabello Are No Longer the Closest
-
Take an Extra 50% Off J.Crew Sale Styles, 50% Off Reebok, 70% Off Gap, 70% Off Kate Spade & More Deals
-
Three anti-abortion activists sentenced to probation in 2021 Tennessee clinic blockade
-
US suspends $95 million in aid to Georgia after passage of foreign agent law that sparked protests