5 reasons missing college student who says she took Uber needs to girl up

Monique Priester, 21, a student at Georgia State University has made national news because her mother claims she took an Uber home on Friday, April 22, 2016 and hadn’t been heard from since.

Jacquelin VanLoo-Al Kush told police she last spoke to Priester on the phone later Friday, around 6:30 p.m., and that she told her she was taking an Uber with a few other people to the Georgia State University campus in Atlanta. According to police, Priester’s phone was then turned off and remained that way over the weekend. She was last seen at a family member’s home in Dacula, Georgia.

Well, on Tuesday afternoon, April 26, 2016, Cpl. Michele Pihera of the Gwinnett County Police Department says Priester left on her own and this was not a suspicious disappearance. Pihera adds, “For confidentiality reasons, her location will not be disclosed [and there’s] no evidence to suggest that Monique’s disappearance was against her will.”

Here’s five reasons why Priester needs to come forward and be accountable for this.

1. Priester has had her mom, Jacquelin VanLoo-Al Kush, in a “panic” ever since she last made contact on Friday.
2. Gwinnett County Police said “the reporting officer placed Monique on the national database as a missing person.”  The costs of missing persons investigations are not just financial; they incur emotional and social costs too for family members, friends, the public and law enforcement.
3. Representatives with Uber got involved and reached out to help, telling ABC News, “We are working directly with local law enforcement to provide any assistance or information that could help them locate Ms. Priester and get her safely home.” Uber has to corporate damage control to prove they take safety seriously. Olivia Pope to the rescue.
4. Priester’s ATM card was used at a grocery store ATM in Nashville, Tennessee. Why didn’t she tell her mom she wanted to take a trip out of state?
5. Priester left after an argument with a family member and now she’s made national news. Friends, classmates and family members will likely feel betrayed by this behavior and alleged disappearance.