Rebecca Osmond missing: Family, friends pleading for help in search for woman heading to Tampa
The Brief
A former TGH employee has been missing for over three weeks after telling her family she was leaving Wisconsin for Tampa.
Rebecca Osmond, 47, took an Amtrack from Beloit, Wisconsin and then purchased a bus ticket from Orlando to Tampa.
She is believed to be en route to visit a friend in New Port Richey and her family and friends are asking for everyone to look for her.
TAMPA, Fla. - Family and friends of former TGH employee Rebecca Osmond, 47, are desperate for answers after she left Wisconsin, telling family she was bound for Tampa.
She hasn't been heard from since February 22.
"When I see pictures [of her], that's happy," said friend Cheyenne Lopez. "That's who Becca is."
The backstory
Friends and family want to know where she is now. On February 22, she took an Amtrak from her home in Beloit, Wisconsin, saying she was headed to Tampa.
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She purchased a bus ticket from Orlando to Tampa, but they're not sure if she ever made it to Tampa's bus station.
Osmond used to live with Lopez in New Port Richey.
"She's surprised me many of times, coming back and forth, and just showing up at my house," Lopez said. "She has a key to my house, so she can come and go anytime that she wants.
Lopez added, "I think something happened to her."
What's next
Lopez says Osmond worked at TGH for years as a physician support specialist and that she was always communicative with her son and made sure her cat was taken care of.
Several years ago, she moved to Wisconsin to take care of her mom, Pat Schultz.
"I wake up crying," said Schultz. "I go to bed crying."
What they're saying
Police in Beloit, Wisconsin consider her missing, but she does not yet meet their criteria to consider her missing and endangered.
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Billy Lane of the Tampa Bay-based search group "We Are The Essentials" is begging anyone who may have seen her in Orlando or Tampa to come forward.
"We never know what a person is going through," said Lane. "So at this point it could be anything, but it doesn't look good."
They hope to track down any surveillance video of her at either bus station to get clues as to where she was and when, and to see if she's with anyone.
Osmond's phone has been off since February 24, and as far as they know, none of her loved ones have heard from her since.
"I would tell her how much we love you," said Lopez. "If something's wrong or if you just need time, just let us know you're okay."
"She needs everyone to step up and watch for her," said Schultz. "Somebody has got to have done something to her because this is not my daughter."
What's next
Police in Beloit, Wisconsin, say Rebecca's disappearance remains under investigation, and they are doing what they legally can to find her.
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Tampa police say that because Osmond's name was entered into a national database of missing persons, her identification would be flagged if they encountered her.
"We Are The Essentials" wants to hear from any Uber or Lyft drivers in Tampa Bay who may have picked her up.
The Source
FOX 13's Evan Axelbank collected the information in this story.
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