Oriana Mobley, a student of the SIU School of Theater and Dance, was located safe early Wednesday morning, nearly 12 hours after being reported missing late Tuesday evening.
Mobley was reported missing at approximately 3 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2024, according to an incident notification from SIU Alert. Police sent out a text at 11:34 p.m. on Tuesday evening requesting help to locate the missing 19-year-old.
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Her classmate, Yasmin Martinez-Powell, last saw Mobley in their tap class, which took place from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, wearing a gray sweatshirt and red leggings. She said Mobley is 5-foot-tall, has dark brown locs and may have been wearing tap shoes or possibly no shoes.
HD Motyl, Director of the School of Theater and Dance, wrote in an email to faculty and students at 12:59 a.m. Wednesday, “As you likely know by now…Oriana Mobley has been missing since she left her tap class this afternoon. At that time, Prof. (Darryl) Clark contacted campus police when he realized it was more than a mere absence from a class. He alerted me and came to my office to update me. Since then, I have spoken to the campus police for updates and offered assistance of any kind from the school. I know they have been working diligently in their search for her.”
Mobley left behind most of her belongings, including her keys, student ID, phone and headphones. Martinez-Powell said Mobley is rarely ever without her headphones or phone.
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Kyla Hunt, friend to Mobley, said Mobley has two phones – an android, which was left behind, and an iPhone, which she “doesn’t use.” Hunt said she was approached by the police at her dorm at 1 a.m. Wednesday asking if she had any information on The Fields apartments in Carbondale, as a ping on Mobley’s iPhone was located near the complex.
“They asked me if I knew anything about The Fields apartments and if we’ve ever been there before, if that’s a familiar area that we’ve walked through, and I was just like, ‘I’m not really sure,’” Hunt said. “I’ve looked at the map and stuff and the closest thing I’ve seen that we’ve been really near is Levels, and then the street behind it was E. College St., which we have walked maybe once.”
Daily Egyptian staff saw SIU police asking passersby in the Communications Building if they had information about her whereabouts around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. During halftime of the men’s basketball game at Banterra Center, around 8 p.m., her name was called over the loudspeaker.
The Daily Egyptian staff reports several students and police searched the campus, nearby train tracks and bus stops, as well as nearby towns, including Herrin, Murphysboro, Marion and Carterville since she was last seen on mass transit according to the SIU Alert.
Police sent out a text at 2:12 a.m. Wednesday alerting the campus that Mobley was located safe. Information regarding her whereabouts has not been released at this time.
The Daily Egyptian will continue to update this story as it develops.
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