On February 8th, 2002, Brenda Heist, of Lititz, dropped her young children off at school at 7:30 in the morning. She wasn’t seen or heard from since. Her husband reported her as missing. An extensive investigation came to naught.
In the ensuing years, the Lancaster County Major Crimes Unit took up the case, which again went cold. Her children went to college. Her husband began the process to have Brenda Heist declared legally deceased.
And then, she turned up. In Key Largo, Florida on April 27th. A Lititz detective flew to Florida and interviewed Heist. She told police she joined a group of homeless people and hitch-hiked to Florida. She has since lived as a homeless person, sleeping under bridges and tents and eating food thrown away by local fast food restaurants.
Police have scheduled a press conference for today and FOX43 News will have a complete report tonight at 6pm.