HOLLAND, Mich. — Courtnie Turpin, 35, hasn’t been able to shake her anxiety for the last three weeks.
Her friend of 20 years, Emelene Joy Van Dyke, hasn’t been seen or heard from since Valentine’s Day.
The Holland Police Department said a few clues exist surrounding her disappearance.
A posting on Van Dyke’s Facebook page stated she was going to have an “electronics free” weekend.
The 36-year old also told co-workers she was going on a retreat. “It was odd that nobody knew anything, and this doesn’t seem right,” Turpin said.
The last day anyone saw her, she bought a new Hyundai accent at a Holland car dealership. Friends said Emelene also withdrew a bunch of cash.
A security camera on her bank’s ATM captures van dyke making the withdrawal. Her employer called her emergency contact the following Tuesday after Emelene failed to show up to work.
These are all things friends say are out of character for her.
Police found that camping gear is missing from Van Dyke’s home. They said it’s possible she left to go camping, but there is no indication that she did. This is the latest information released.
Turpin said friends got together this past weekend. They discussed their last memories of Emelene and if anything stood out.
“Maybe the way she said something, interpreted, thought about something she said. Maybe she meant it this way, other than the way we took it,” Turpin explained.
“[We’re] kind of rehashing the last conversations we had with her, basically,” she added.
They’re just praying that answers to what’s happen to Emelene come through sooner rather than later.
“I just hope we find out why or if… we just want to know she’s okay,” Turpin said. “If she did this on her own or needed to do this, just let us know. We just want to know she’s okay.”
“We’ve been through a lot together. I want to go through a lot more,” she explained.
Anyone with information surrounding Van Dyke’s disappearance is asked to call Silent Observor at (616) 392-4443.
