A Connecticut woman has been found alive and safe more than a year after she disappeared from her home, leaving all her belongings behind.
Monica Decker, 53, had been missing since April 8, 2020, when she was seen leaving the house she shared with her adult son in Bridgeport.
Her daughter, Sheila Yasin, posted on Facebook Wednesday, June 3, 2021, the good news that her mother had been found safe and alive. She added that her mother had lost weight and is in the hospital, but that she is recovering.
“I wanted to let you all know that my mother has been found, she is safe an alive thank God. She weighs 89 pounds and is the hospital at the moment trying to recover.
I'm not okay and I don't know what else to say. Im not mentally prepare for questions that even I don't know the answers to yet.
I wanted to say thank you all so so much for sharing my posts and praying for my mother I appreciate everyone of yous!!! ❤”
According to Detective Kenneth McKenna with the Bridgeport Police Department, Monica was located on May 31, 2021. He confirmed to Dateline that there was “no criminal aspect to her disappearance” and that he will not be releasing any further information regarding the incident.
Monica’s family has been searching for her for more than a year, hoping for the best but fearing the worst, telling Dateline last year that it was not like her to disappear without telling someone.
When Monica didn’t show up for work at Norwalk Transit that week in April 2020, police performed a welfare check and discovered Monica’s 2016 Honda Civic parked outside and her personal belongings, including her cell phone, located inside the house.
Her daughter, Sheila, told Dateline in October 2020 that she had just seen her mother the week prior and everything seemed normal and that it would be uncharacteristic for her to leave without saying anything to her family.
An investigation by the Bridgeport Police led investigators to believe that Monica left the area with a man named Toby Roberts, according to Detective Kenneth McKenna. In early May 2020, Monica’s daughters were alerted by the bank that she had accessed her account at an ATM in Wilmington, Vermont. The detective told Dateline that Monica had checked the account balance, but did not withdraw any cash.
Detective McKenna told Dateline that investigators obtained the security footage from the Merchants bank ATM and confirmed that the image was Monica. The video also showed Monica getting into a green Honda CR-V with an unknown male.
At the time, Det. McKenna said they did not suspect foul play, but never gave up searching for her. There is no word on whether Toby Roberts has been located.
Anyone who may have additional information about Monica’s case is asked to contact Detective Kenneth McKenna at the Bridgeport Police Department in Connecticut at 203-581-5245.