Missing Wilde Lake Teacher's Vehicle Found: Report

COLUMBIA, MD - The SUV of a missing Wilde Lake High School teacher has been found, according to police.

Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, has been out of touch with relatives since Monday. She did not show up for the first day of school on Tuesday in Howard County.

• Wilde Lake Teacher Missing, School Offers Support

After family members concerned about her well-being reported Wallen missing, police issued a lookout for her and her black 2011 Ford Escape with Maryland tags M522473.

Police said officials found the SUV across from The Mall in Columbia Thursday night parked at an apartment complex in the 10600 block of Gramercy Place in Columbia. (For more on this story and others, get news alerts from Columbia Patch and like us on Facebook.)

Police also searched a dumpster in the area where the vehicle was located, according WJZ.

The status of Wallen remained unchanged; she was still missing, according to Montgomery County police, which began the investigation and has classified it as a "suspicious disappearance."

Wallen was described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and 200 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes.

She was four months pregnant and lived alone at a Montgomery County condo in Rolling Meadows Way in Olney, her relatives told NBC Washington, describing her last text with them as "troubling."

Wallen was popular among students at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, where she was voted senior class teacher of the year in 2016. Following her disappearance, the class of 2018 started a Twitter chain showing their support and offering prayers.

Anyone with information about Laura Elizabeth Wallen is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Department's non-emergency line at 301-279-8000. It is monitored 24 hours a day.

Photo of Laura Wallen courtesy of the Montgomery County Police Department.