UCD and Penn Police Reunite Missing Woman with Family

Philadelphia, 10 September 2002 – University City District (UCD) Ambassadors and University of Pennsylvania Police last month were able to assist a woman reported as missing and reunite her with her family.

The disappearance of the woman, Teresa La Fontaine, had been publicized in the media because she suffers from serious medical conditions. After observing a woman sleeping outdoors in Bower Field, on the morning of August 21st Penn Police sent for the UCD Homeless Outreach Team to interview her and assess her condition. They specifically requested someone who speaks Spanish. That morning, Ambassadors Glenn Goodwin and Erlinda Martinez were dispatched – Martinez because of her Spanish fluency. La Fontaine told them that she lived in North Philadelphia with her family, but she could not remember her phone number or other details of how she came to be in University City.

Martinez asked La Fontaine to accompany them to find her family. They went first to the city Office of Emergency Shelter Services where the desk guard immediately recognized the woman from a missing person flyer – as luck would have it -- posted in a nearby corner store as well as from the previous night’s newscast. With that, the Ambassadors were able to contact La Fontaine’s daughter, and soon mother and daughter were reunited. La Fontaine had been missing for four days, and Martinez said that "[the daughter] was crying and really happy to see her mom."

Release Date: Tuesday, September 10th 2002