A North Yarmouth elementary teacher who disappeared from her home overnight Sunday had sought emergency medical help and had a “safety assessment” earlier that day after experiencing anxiety, her husband said.
“Sunday morning, Kristin was experiencing what I would call some anxiety and she expressed that she had some sleepless nights and was worried,” Jay Westra said in an interview with NBC News, his first comments to the media.
Westra, a pediatric oncology nurse, said he called a friend who was a “licensed clinical nurse practitioner” who arranged to see his wife that afternoon. He said Kristin Westra met with the medical professional while he and his daughter waited outside, and had the safety assessment that determined she was not at risk to harm herself or others. After they returned home, she went for a run, he went to the grocery store, then they all had dinner together before going to bed, he said.
Kristin Westra, a 47-year-old teacher at Chebeague Island School, was last seen at the family’s home on Lufkin Road when she went to bed with her husband around 8 p.m. Sunday, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.
Police and game wardens have been searching for her since Monday, and the search continued on Thursday, officials said.
The search on Thursday will focus on areas related to a tip received late Wednesday about a possible sighting of Westra, Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service said. It was not immediately clear when or where she was seen.
Authorities found no clues to Westra’s whereabouts during a search of the wooded area within a 1.5-mile radius of her home that “eliminated with high probability” she was in the vicinity of the house on Lufkin Road that she shared with her husband, daughter and stepson, MacDonald said.
Jay Westra talked about the ordeal Wednesday. Standing in his front yard, Westra gave NBC News a detailed description of the family’s activities Sunday and early Monday. After the visit with the medical professional, Kristin had a plan to get blood work done on Monday, and she had a plan to return to her usual running and yoga – disrupted because of school starting and construction at their home – a slight change to her diet and changing her sleep patterns.
“She told me she felt better. We had a plan,” he said. “Kristin is a person who when she has a plan, she sticks to the plan and she follows through and she does things well, every time.”
After they went to bed Sunday, Jay Westra said he noticed Kristin was restless, and he awoke at 3:30 a.m. and she was not in their bed. He said he thought she had gone to another room to sleep or downstairs to avoid waking him.
He said he didn’t realize she wasn’t in the house until the next morning. Officials said her vehicle, cellphone, keys and wallet were all still at home.
Noel K. Gallagher can be reached at 791-6387 or at:
Twitter: noelinmaine
Searchers cross a field Wednesday near Lufkin Road in North Yarmouth as they look for elementary school teacher Kristin Westra, 47, who was reported missing Monday morning. The emotional toll is weighing on the woman’s family, friends and colleagues. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald)
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