COCOA, Fla. — A 52-year-old Florida woman hadn't been seen for three days when someone heard her banging on the door of a shipping container she was locked in.
Marlene Lopez's family last saw her on Monday, March 4, at her home on Lucerne Drive in Cocoa, police reported. It wasn't until Wednesday that a concerned coworker reported her missing when she didn't show up to pick up her son.
After speaking to family members, checking known locations and posting a missing person bulletin, Cocoa police received a call that Lopez was found in an unlikely place — a shipping container next to a local business.
"She had been banging on the door of the shipping container when someone heard her and unlocked the door," the police department wrote.
Lopez was not injured but was taken to the hospital for evaluation and possible dehydration.
But, it's still unclear how she ended up inside the shipping container in the first place.
The owner of the shipping container, Tyler Sonneberg, told news station WKMG that the container was stocked with lawnmowers.
Sonneberg reportedly saw Lopez walking around the area on Monday. He told the news station that he locked up the shipping container on Tuesday afternoon but didn't hear anyone inside.
Sonneberg also claims he found a lighter and pipe inside the container after Lopez left, adding that he thinks she wandered inside by herself and passed out, WKMG reports.
The Cocoa Police Department is continuing to investigate how Lopez ended up inside the shipping container.
