MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Dana Rose is desperate for her mother to come home.
“It came as quite a surprise when I got the message that she was missing,” she said.
Her mother, Vendula Rose, who goes by Wendy, has a hunger for adventure and often Dana would join her on her adventures.
Wendy is an avid backpacker. She also rides horses and has her pilot’s license.
“Adventure doesn’t even encapsulate my mother. If there is something she wanted to do, it does not matter what the task was. She would get it done and she would do it perfectly. I don’t know how she did it,” Dana said.
Wendy left her Marysville home on Sept. 20 for a backpacking trip in Alabama, but her family became concerned when she did not show up to work her shift at Walmart on Oct. 4.
“What I know is she went down to Alabama to go hiking which is not abnormal. We would go crazy long distances to go see something beautiful, but she didn’t come back when she was supposed to come back and that is abnormal,” Dana said.
According to the Cleburne County Sheriff's Department, Wendy arrived in Alabama on Sep. 20 and went hiking on the Pinhoti Trail. On Sep. 23, she traveled to South Carolina but came back to the park the next day.
Her vehicle was located at the Pinhoti Trailhead just outside of the Cheaha State Park and inside, authorities found a magazine, a box of ammunition missing seven rounds and some notes that alerted law enforcement of a possible mental health crisis.
Dana said they were written in Czech, her mother’s native language and were “macabre” but did not indicate self-harm.
Dana does not know why her mother went to South Carolina or what her intentions were for the trip.
She said it has been painful to read rumors about her mother’s disappearance on social media.
There are a lot of questions she and law enforcement do not have answers to, but she wants her mother to come home safe.
“I really love her. I love you, Mom. I really hope there is some way you can see this. I really miss you and I want you to come back home and I want to go on a hiking trip soon,” Dana said.
Law enforcement in Alabama has searched about 36 miles of trails. Dana is hoping to join family members and some of her mother’s friends in going to Alabama this week and looking for themselves.
Anyone with information should contact the Cleburne County Sheriff's Department, Investigator Sims at 256-463-2277 ext. 110.