Found Safe TX - Michelle Reynolds - 6th Grade Reading and Language Arts Teacher - Missing Since 22 Sept 2022

[Ray_of_hope]

It's quite possibly a fugue state, which is sudden and unexpected, but I don't know if she had any major psychological stressors lately.

 

[SherryLock]

You are correct in sometimes a hurricane like that can impact weather far away, but Ian is heading Northeast not West into the gulf so New Orleans weather today was clear, sunny with light winds and zero rain in the forecast for the coming week. The weather wouldn't have been a factor in land or air search.

Lakeshore Drive along New Orleans lakefront closed due to flooding Wednesday morning

Lakeshore Drive along New Orleans lakefront closed Wednesday morning due to flooding

The northerly winds that helped steer Hurricane Ian away from Louisiana caused a section of Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans to flood on Wednesday morning.

www.nola.com

 

[Vanilla Glitter]

Michelle doesn't sound depressed to me from that quote. Sounds like she's learning to appreciate the present and is planning to continue to do so.

I personally know two very depressed people that post things like this all of the time.

 

[WingsOverTX]

I have to say that from some of the comments, it is clear mental health issues are very puzzling to the high percentage of the population that has never faced trying to manage life with one (or more). If depression was logical & dependable in its presentation across the spectrum of sufferers, it would be much easier to treat - just find the right med & poof! you're "normal." The same is true for many other mental disorders.

High functioning people with mental illness are so puzzling to those not caught in the maze. And it is an inescapable maze for most sufferers even with adequate to good treatment.

Imagine the emotional, physical & psychological energy expended to work through the maze for someone who can never escape but tries their best to navigate it & appear "normal".

I applaud MR's husband. He lives with the challenges of the maze, too. All who care about someone with mental illness do.

Figuring it out is like this - come take my hand and walk through the maze with me. You will see how many coping skills are required, the many discouraging ups and downs. You will want out of that maze but there is no exit. There is only coping as best one can.

MOO

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

The linked news article says that the woman on video seen leaving the vehicle resembled the missing person. The husband noted a "height discrepancy". I'm guessing he thought the person in the video looked shorter or taller than his missing wife. Nowhere does it says he thought it couldn't be her or didn't resemble her. So far, there is no evidence that she didn't act on her own accord, including parking and walking away from the car.

 

[SherryLock]

Here's a new article with a bit of new info. This one describes what Michelle was wearing when last seen, which is new. Besides the black leggings mentioned before, sandals and a dark-colored jacket have been added. The husband says again that he's not sure if the person in the surveillance video is Michelle, this time because it's too grainy (as people on here thought earlier). One difference in this article is that it says Michelle went to a counseling session Thursday morning whereas an article from earlier today said she had had that on a Zoom call. There have been a lot of these discrepancies between articles.

Family desperate for clues in Texas woman Michelle Reynold's disappearance

The 48-year-old mother-of-three was last seen leaving her Texas home. Three days later, her car was discovered in New Orleans with all of her belongings inside.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Ray_of_hope]

I have to say that from some of the comments, it is clear mental health issues are very puzzling to the high percentage of the population that has never faced trying to manage life with one (or more). If depression was logical & dependable in its presentation across the spectrum of sufferers, it would be much easier to treat - just find the right med & poof! you're "normal." The same is true for many other mental disorders.

High functioning people with mental illness are so puzzling to those not caught in the maze. And it is an inescapable maze for most sufferers even with adequate to good treatment.

Imagine the emotional, physical & psychological energy expended to work through the maze for someone who can never escape but tries their best to navigate it & appear "normal".

I applaud MR's husband. He lives with the challenges of the maze, too. All who care about someone with mental illness do.

Figuring it out is like this - come take my hand and walk through the maze with me. You will see how many coping skills are required, the many discouraging ups and downs. You will want out of that maze but there is no exit. There is only coping as best one can.

MOO

Sadly, you're correct. But I'll also add that it requires a tremendous amount of energy for someone depressed to perform simple activities of daily living. Just getting OOB requires herculean effort when consumed by the black cloud.

 

[SherryLock]

Re the discussion about depression, just to prevent confusion, I don't think it was stated anywhere that Michelle Reynolds suffered from depression, just that she had some kind of mental health issue.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

I hope the local New Orleans news is blasting Michelle's pic 24/7. Someone in the area has to have seen her.

from posted article:
"Michelle works at Fairview Middle School, but in the days leading up to her disappearance, she was taking some time off. Michael told Dateline Michelle has struggled with her mental health for about seven years. “We were really working on getting her well,” Michael said. “She seems like she was getting better, then all of a sudden there’s something that triggered [her].”

Michael told Dateline on the morning of Thursday, September 22, Michelle visited a counselor and went home..."
*****MOO and speculation
She could understandably have suffered a dissociative break. I hope she is found safely and ASAP.

Family desperate for clues in Texas woman Michelle Reynold's disappearance

The 48-year-old mother-of-three was last seen leaving her Texas home. Three days later, her car was discovered in New Orleans with all of her belongings inside.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[WingsOverTX]

Re the discussion about depression, just to prevent confusion, I don't think it was stated anywhere that Michelle Reynolds suffered from depression, just that she had some kind of mental health issue.

Yes. Thank you for pointing that out. We do not even need a diagnosis to have compassion for her and her family. I hope they find Michelle very soon. She seems to be someone who contributes great things to the lives of others. Bless her.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

Re the discussion about depression, just to prevent confusion, I don't think it was stated anywhere that Michelle Reynolds suffered from depression, just that she had some kind of mental health issue.

True, I will add speculation to my post, I am trying to think of issues that would cause a person to voluntarily wander.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

The linked news article says that the woman on video seen leaving the vehicle resembled the missing person. The husband noted a "height discrepancy". I'm guessing he thought the person in the video looked shorter or taller than his missing wife. Nowhere does it says he thought it couldn't be her or didn't resemble her. So far, there is no evidence that she didn't act on her own accord, including parking and walking away from the car.

Hopefully, he could also watch her walking and mannerisms, if long enough, which could also help.

 

[SherryLock]

True, I will add speculation to my post, I am trying to think of issues that would cause a person to voluntarily wander.

What I thought of was being in a manic state (the "up" phase of bipolar), but I'm sure there are also other possibilities.

 

[SherryLock]

Re the poor quality of the surveillance video, I think sometimes they can make the footage appear lighter and more clear but I don't know how much it can be improved or how long it would take LE to get it done. I think they can also pretty accurately estimate the height of someone in real life based on a video, with the right technology. Does anyone have experience or knowledge about it?

 

[Mandrew]

It's quite possibly a fugue state, which is sudden and unexpected, but I don't know if she had any major psychological stressors lately.

I've also seen a few bipolar people in their "Manic" phase that will act like this. They're so happy all the time, eventually they crash and come down to Earth, either "normal" or in a depressed state. If (and this is a big if) that is the case, that is when she'll be found.

 

[DocBrew]

There are quite a few psychiatric inpatient facilities in a 2-3 mile radius of where she parked her car. Her presence at one of them isn't information that is required to be reported to authorities. In fact, it may be illegal/unethical to do so without her written consent. If she is in a fugue state, neither identification confirmation nor competence could be ascertained.

If she is in a facility and went voluntarily (i.e. was not picked up by LE or EMS), then I imagine she went to New Orleans to avoid anyone in her bubble knowing that she checked herself into a psychiatric facility (the stigma is real). But if in a fugue state she would have been picked up pretty quickly and admitted involuntarily (and confidentially).

JMO.

 

[ashhouston]

I didn't see anything saying she was mentally unstable. Even if she was why did she plan to run off like this wouldn't her husband notice her being strange? Has this happened before? Her just running off probably has happened in the past if she's an unstable person. wish the family would say something so if anyone sees her they can aproch or not approch her properly

 

[swanniee11]

Here's a new article with a bit of new info. This one describes what Michelle was wearing when last seen, which is new. Besides the black leggings mentioned before, sandals and a dark-colored jacket have been added. The husband says again that he's not sure if the person in the surveillance video is Michelle, this time because it's too grainy (as people on here thought earlier). One difference in this article is that it says Michelle went to a counseling session Thursday morning whereas an article from earlier today said she had had that on a Zoom call. There have been a lot of these discrepancies between articles.

Family desperate for clues in Texas woman Michelle Reynold's disappearance

The 48-year-old mother-of-three was last seen leaving her Texas home. Three days later, her car was discovered in New Orleans with all of her belongings inside.

www.nbcnews.com

Thanks for posting that. Very informative.

 

[GMS]

Here's a new article with a bit of new info. This one describes what Michelle was wearing when last seen, which is new. Besides the black leggings mentioned before, sandals and a dark-colored jacket have been added. The husband says again that he's not sure if the person in the surveillance video is Michelle, this time because it's too grainy (as people on here thought earlier). One difference in this article is that it says Michelle went to a counseling session Thursday morning whereas an article from earlier today said she had had that on a Zoom call. There have been a lot of these discrepancies between articles.

Family desperate for clues in Texas woman Michelle Reynold's disappearance

The 48-year-old mother-of-three was last seen leaving her Texas home. Three days later, her car was discovered in New Orleans with all of her belongings inside.

www.nbcnews.com

Thanks for sharing.

The article also notes that Michelle told the daughter she was going to the bank, along with getting something to eat. I haven't seen any reports from family / LE if they confirmed she actually went to a bank and any transactions she may have had. I assume not, since there would be surveillance available.

I also wonder, for those more familiar with individuals in a fugue or mental episode, and I understand there are varying degrees...would an individual in a city where they don't live or know anyone, have the where with all to check-in to a hotel, go to restaurants, etc.?

 

[DocBrew]

I also wonder, for those more familiar with individuals in a fugue or mental episode, and I understand there are varying degrees...would an individual in a city where they don't live or know anyone, have the where with all to check-in to a hotel, go to restaurants, etc.?

Generally no, but they do tend to be quite impressionable.

JMO.