Missing Riverside Woman Seen In South, Goes To Hospital

La Grange IL

16 March, 2021

3:58 PM

Description

RIVERSIDE, IL — A missing Riverside woman converted $20,000 in cash into silver coins and left home with a significant amount of cash more than two weeks ago, police said Tuesday. Since, she is believed to have been seen in two Southern states, police said. On Monday, Riverside police announced that 55-year-old Lisa Ann Vais had been missing for more than two weeks. Her disappearance was reported the day before. On Saturday, Vais made a $3,100 grocery purchase at a Food Lion grocery store in Brevard, N.C., according to a Riverside police news release. This was considered unusual, so Riverside police reached out to the management and interviewed employees. Police were told that Vais came into the store on her own, bought the groceries and got employees to help load her car. She told the cashier she was buying so much because she was going to be gone for a long time and would not be near a supermarket, police said. After media reports Monday, Riverside police received a call from a Georgia resident who believes she spotted Vais in Gainesville, Ga. She told police that a woman matching Vais' description was walking on John W. Morrow Parkway at Jessie Jewel Parkway. In tracking Vais' movements, Riverside police discovered that she was briefly admitted Thursday into Advent Health Hospital in Fletcher, N.C. She reported having a heart problem and was taken to the hospital by a friend, police said. She was treated and then released from the emergency room. "There is no doubt that Ms. Vais is in need of some assistance," Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in the news release. "Her family stated that she is in extreme emotional distress, and it is imperative that we find her as soon as possible. Riverside officers and detectives are working around the clock in an attempt to locate Ms. Vais, and she has been entered into every national database for missing persons that exists." Vais is described as white, age 55, 145 pounds, 5-foot-2, and having blond hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen in Riverside leaving her house driving a bluish gray 2015 Mazda CX5 SUV, with a license plate number of 1742048, police said. She was said to be going to visit her son in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Anyone with information on the disappearance of Vais is asked to call 911 or 1-708-447-9191 for the Riverside Police Department. You can also send a tip to [email protected].