COCOA, Fla. – A missing woman was found safe Thursday after banging on the door of a shipping container she was trapped in, according to the Cocoa Police Department.
Police said 52-year-old Marlene Lopez was reported missing Wednesday and found the following day before 12 p.m. inside the container next to a business at 2005 N. Cocoa Blvd.
The department said she was not injured and taken to the hospital for evaluation and possible dehydration.
Police said Lopez’s family last saw her Monday, and she was reported missing after a coworker called to report she didn’t pick up her son.
“Detectives responded and began to check known locations, interviewed family members, and issued a missing person bulletin. During the course of the investigation, detectives were notified that the woman had been found. She had been banging on the door of the shipping container when someone heard her and unlocked the door,” the department said.
Tyler Sonneberg, who owns the shipping container, said it was stocked with lawnmowers. He told News 6 that he first saw Lopez walking around the area on Monday. While he remembers locking down the storage unit on Tuesday afternoon, he said he didn’t hear any noise on Wednesday.
Sonneberg said he believes that Lopez might have walked into the unit on her own and passed out. He claimed to have found a lighter and pipe inside after she left on Thursday.
Sonneberg said he’s not at fault for Lopez becoming trapped in the container, and he’s considering pressing charges against her.
The police department said it is still under investigation how she ended up in the shipping container.
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