A Florida woman, Marlene Lopez, 52, was discovered in a locked shipping container after being missing for three days. The woman was found in Cocoa, Florida, in a red metal container typically used for storing lawnmowers. She was found around noon on Thursday, appearing disoriented and unable to recount the events leading to her confinement.
Lopez, dressed in a leather biker jacket and tights, was found after sounds of banging were heard from the container. She was immediately taken to a hospital for a checkup. The owner of the shipping container later reported finding a lighter and a pipe inside the container after Lopez was rescued.
The woman was reported missing on Wednesday by a coworker who became concerned about her well-being after she failed to pick up her son. According to the Cocoa Police Department, Lopez had not been seen since Monday.
While the police were interviewing Lopez’s family and checking her known hangouts, they received information that she had been found. The woman was discovered after someone heard her banging on the door of the shipping container and unlocked it.
Lopez was not physically injured but was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and possible dehydration. Tyler Sonneberg, a local businessman who owns the shipping container, reported seeing Lopez wandering around the area on Monday night.
Sonneberg locked the container on Tuesday afternoon and did not hear any sounds from within it the next day. He speculated that Lopez might have wandered into the container and passed out.
The Cocoa police believe that Lopez had been in the container since Monday night. The circumstances leading to her confinement in the container are still under investigation, and no charges have been announced so far.