Missing teen finds safety

A developmentally disabled 18-year-old was found Saturday afternoon in a Glenn County store, four days after she vanished from her Gridley hometown. Police also announced the imminent arrest of at least one man in connection with her disappearance.

Nora Loreta Hollinger surfaced at the Wal-Mart in Willows around 3 p.m. after an unknown vehicle apparently dropped her off there, according to Lt. Brian Cook of the Gridley-Biggs Police Department. The woman, known as Lori, called Willows police, who then alerted their Gridley-Biggs counterparts.

Gridley-Biggs police Detective Hameed Khan took Hollinger back to Gridley, where officers interviewed her for several hours Saturday night. She did not show signs of injury and was “in a confused state of mind,” Cook said on Sunday.

Afterward, Hollinger was taken to an undisclosed location but not to the home of her foster mother, with whom she reportedly argued before leaving their house in the 900 block of Indiana Street at about 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Gridley-Biggs police announced they are preparing to arrest one man this week in connection with Hollinger's disappearance and said they were investigating two other men in the case - although Cook said there is no evidence of armed force so far.

“At this point, it doesn't appear to be a forced abduction,” he said. “We're describing this as a non-forced abduction until we evaluate our victim.”

Police declined to say where the woman had been during her disappearance.

Shortly after leaving home Tuesday - without shoes or a jacket - Hollinger entered a vehicle on northbound Highway 99 just north of Gridley, according to Cook. A police ground search failed to find her, as did helicopter and canine sweeps by the Butte County Sheriff's Department.

According to Cook, the woman described encountering a man closely resembling the composite sketch police released of a male in his 30s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and more than 230 pounds.

Police have said an eyewitness saw Hollinger and a man at a Gridley convenience store. The two bought Gatorade and several food items, but where they went after leaving the store was not known.

Earlier, there was speculation Hollinger might try to visit her birth mother, who lives in Prineville, Ore. Law enforcement agencies in central Oregon assisted in the investigation last week, but Cook said the woman did not leave California during the four days she was missing.

Despite Hollinger's reappearance, the multi-agency task force investigating the case is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. today in Gridley. The group includes police from Gridley-Biggs, Chico and California State University, Chico, along with the county Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office.

“It's important to get her psychologically evaluated to see which direction this case will head,” said Cook.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune can be reached at 749-4708. You may e-mail him at hyune@appeal-democrat.com.