NORFOLK — Gabriella Todman, a 15-year-old Norfolk girl, has been missing for more than two weeks, and police say recent messages sent to Todman’s mother likely did not come from the girl.
Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot said at a press conference Tuesday that Todman had gone missing from home before, but she was always back within a day. Since her disappearance on July 24, Talbot said detectives have worked “nonstop,” but a more recent development has warranted more urgency and help from the public. On Aug. 3, Todman’s mother received texts and social media messages that were allegedly from her daughter. Talbot said though the person who may have sent the message may not have meant any harm, the department is continuing to investigate who may have sent them.
“We investigated that thoroughly. We do not believe that the messages came from Gabby at this point,” Talbot said. “We have more work to do related to those messages, much more investigative work. But at this point, we’re asking for the public’s help in finding out where that she might be.”
The timeline of her disappearance and the messages have Talbot feeling “anxious.” He said the messages “sparked a different thought” about what happened to Todman.
“There’s a sense of urgency that we’re bringing to this investigation, like we bring to all investigations,” Talbot said. “The reality of missing persons cases is they almost all worked out fine, but not all of them, as we’ve seen on a number of occasions. We’re going to do everything that we can to make sure that this case works out just fine.”
Todman was last seen at the 8600 block of Glenn Myrtle Avenue at about 1 p.m. on July 24. Todman is approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. She has brown eyes and curly dark brown hair. She was last seen wearing a black and green hoodie, black jeans, black socks and black slides.
Anyone who may have seen Todman or who may have information about her whereabouts are encouraged to call 911, or contact the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or the anonymous P3Tips mobile app.
Eliza Noe, [email protected]
