Aj missing Virginia Tech student who disappeared before an examination was sighted in southeastern Missouri on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said Thursday.
“After many long hours of tracking leads and conducting follow up investigations, Sheriff’s Office investigators were able to track Jonathan Roop to a restaurant in Poplar Bluff, Missouri on the afternoon of February 21,” the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said in a statement.
Roop, 20, was spotted alone at the restaurant and left when an employee identified him, according to the statement. He drove away alone in his car, and local law enforcement agents were unable to pick up his trail, though they did obtain photos of him fleeing unaccompanied in a black Toyota, as seen in images included with the statement.
“While there are many unanswered questions, based on this personal sighting, we believe Mr. Roop is acting alone and traveling on his own free will,” the Sheriff’s Office added.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate Virginia Tech student Johnny Roop, last seen at his apartment in the Merrimac area of Montgomery County on Feb. 16.
Contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 540-382-4343 with info.https://t.co/4UWoCR9WVz
— Virginia Tech (@virginia_tech) February 19, 2024
Roop is believed to have disappeared alone from Montgomery County on Feb. 16, an action “not consistent with his normal patterns of behavior,” according to friends and family, the MCSO said in a separate statement Tuesday.
The student, last seen at his apartment complex in the Merrimac area of Montgomery County, was traveling to his parents’ home in Abingdon to sit for an evening online exam “but never showed up,” Virginia Tech said in a news release.
“We appreciate the concern of law enforcement organizations, businesses, and the public during this investigation,” the MCSO said. (RELATED: Teen Miraculously Found Alive After ‘Cyber Kidnapping’ Scam)
— MontVASheriffsOffice (@VAMCSO) February 23, 2024
Other university student disappearances that made headlines in recent years include those of 21-year-old Texas State University student Jason Landry and 22-year-old Auburn University student Kyle Clinkscales.
Landry has not been seen since Dec. 13, 2020, and his car was found abandoned on a rural Texas road early the next day, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.
Clinkscales disappeared in Jan. 1976, and his bones were found in his car in an Alabama creek in Dec. 2021 and confirmed to be his in Feb. 2023, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.