January 08, 2018
A Texas college football reporter who vanished after reportedly texting her roommate about being followed by a suspicious man was found Monday and appeared to be unharmed, Houston police said.
Courtney Roland, 29, was found near the Houston Galleria mall and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to a police tweet.
"We don't have too many details right now; we're just happy she's OK," her father Steve Roland told the Houston Chronicle, noting that officers called him from a Chick-fil-A restaurant to report the news, although he was unsure if that was where she was found.
Roland, who covers Texas A&M University football for the college sports website Rivals, was last seen Sunday around 5:40 pm walking alone in a store at the Houston Galleria, investigators had said.
A white Jeep belonging to Roland was discovered by police Monday in a parking lot across the street from the mall, with her phone and other items still inside.
Her purse, which contained an iPad, computer and credit cards inside, also was found inside the mall, according to family members who spoke to KHOU.
Roland’s roommate told Click 2 Houston she received a text from Roland on Sunday saying she was being followed by a blue truck driven by a suspicious man she saw in a Walgreens store.
The roommate said the man followed Roland to her home in the truck, circled back around, parked behind her in her driveway and sped away when Roland exited her vehicle, although it was not immediately clear how the roommate knew that information or how Roland arrived at the home.
The roommate told the station that they were supposed to meet up on Sunday, but she never heard back.
Later Sunday, Roland’s mother received a text from her phone saying, "hello the owner of this phone Courtney. I am buying an iPad,” according to Click 2 Houston.
Roland’s roommate also told Click 2 Houston that Roland had been on high alert for weeks after someone broke into her car.
Several of Roland’s colleagues had taken to Twitter to ask for help finding her. She had been covering a Houston football camp Saturday and had left in an Uber, Click 2 Houston reported.