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A Florida family is desperately seeking answers in the disappearance of 16-year-old Sophie Cover, who went missing July 31 after leaving her home in the early hours without explanation.
“There is no way that she’s going and leaving, putting me through this for five days. There’s no way. I don’t care what the reason is,” her heartbroken father, Richard Cover, told ABC affiliate Gulf Coast News Now.
“She’s my buddy. I thought I wasn’t going to cry, man,” he said, acknowledging that a feeling of overwhelming helplessness has set in since her disappearance.
Surveillance footage showed the teen walking out of her home around 12:45 a.m. in Golden Gate Estates, a middle-class, census-designated community about 40 miles south of Fort Myers on Florida’s west coast.
Her father said he realized she was missing when he heard the dogs whimpering.
“And so I walk around, go through the pool bathroom door, and that’s unlocked. And then I walk into her bedroom, and she’s nowhere to be found,” he told the outlet.
The family moved to the community just four months ago, and refuse to believe Sophia would run away.
Her anguished father has begun a search effort for the girl, both online and in the community, hoping for clues into her mysterious disappearance.
“Everybody is looking for you. And, if you’re out there on your own, it’s really easy to come home. You can go to any police officer. You can go to any adult that is safe,” Cover said in a message to his daughter.
Deputies in Collier County confirmed to the outlet that a multi-agency investigation has been opened in the case, but investigators say they have come up empty on leads so far.
Authorities describe Sophia as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 115 pounds, with brown eyes and long brown hair.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300.
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