A teen who had been missing since Sunday, Feb. 9, was found safe around 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, by DPS Trooper Levi Wilcox.
According to Sgt. Rob Willoughby, supervisor of the Liberty County office of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Trooper Wilcox was passing by the Chevron gas station at the intersection of US 59 and SH 105 in Cleveland when he spotted a vehicle matching the description of the missing teen, 18-year-old Neveah Woodall.
Pulling into the store parking lot, Wilcox confirmed that the paper tags on the vehicle were a match. Inside the car, reclining in the seat, he reportedly found Woodall.
“Trooper Wilcox believed she was having a mental health crisis,” Willoughby explained.
The young woman reportedly told authorities that her cell phone had broken three days earlier and that she had been trying to find work in the Cleveland area to support herself. Liberty County Pct. 5 Constable David Hunter and a Liberty County Sheriff’s Office mental health officer assisted at the scene, along with detectives from the Houston Police Department.
After assessing the situation, authorities determined that connecting Woodall to mental health services was the best course of action, and she reportedly agreed.
Willoughby praised Wilcox’s attentiveness in locating the missing woman’s vehicle, which led to her recovery.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my troopers. I have an outstanding team here in Liberty County, and they consistently put the needs of this community first.”
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