She Vanished After Canceling A Trip To See Her Children And Taking A Bus To Tampa
Erica Johnson was a 36-year-old divorced mother of two, originally from St. Louis, Missouri.
However, she frequented St. Charles and St. Peters. And in 2022, she worked at Best Western Plus Beach Resort in Fort Myers Beach as a housekeeper.
At the time, Erica had been renting a room in Cape Coral, Florida, close to 621 Cape Coral Parkway East.
But come July of last year, she strangely disappeared after canceling a trip to visit her children.
It all began on July 5, 2022, when Erica finished work at 4:30 p.m. Following her shift, a coworker dropped her off at a bus stop in Fort Myers, which was close to the Bell Shop Towers shopping center.
Erica then boarded the late afternoon bus as planned and was later seen on surveillance footage exiting the bus at 5:37 p.m. after arriving at the Cape Coral Transit Center.
However, the following morning of July 6, Erica sent a text to her ex-husband at 7:00 a.m.– revealing that she had to cancel her plans to visit their two kids. She claimed to have called the trip off because she needed to work.
Yet, two days later, Erica was again spotted at the Cape Coral Transit Center bus stop during the early morning hours. Surveillance camera footage showed that she had been carrying a traveling pillow, bags, and a bunny cage before boarding a bus at 5:21 a.m.
Later that same morning, Erica was then seen in Fort Myers– where she proceeded to board a Greyhound bus that was headed to Tampa.
Facebook – pictured above is Erica
What happened afterward, though, has remained a mystery, and Erica was never seen or heard from again.
Her loved ones were unable to reach her following July 6. So, on July 14, 2022, Erica’s family contacted the Cape Coral Police Department to file a missing person report.
Upon launching an investigation, authorities did determine that Erica had made it to the Greyhound bus stop in Tampa. However, where she traveled afterward remains unknown. All calls to her cell phone also went directly to voicemail.
Inside Erica’s rented room, investigators did discover a backpack, a bin of clothes, a small couch, and a blue bicycle. According to her neighbors, Erica was also seen carrying a black suitcase one week before she vanished.
However, Erica did not own a car and only used her cell phone rarely. Additionally, she did not have any bank or social media accounts and tended to rely on public transportation for her commute to Fort Myers for work.
So, the exact circumstances surrounding her disappearance have remained unclear, and the investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have also upgraded Erica’s case status to “missing and endangered adult.”
At the time of her disappearance, Erica was five foot eight, weighed 130 pounds, and had green eyes. She also reportedly dyed her naturally brown hair darker just before she disappeared.
Erica was last seen wearing jeans, a baseball cap, and sneakers with a tied sweatshirt around her waist.
If you have any information regarding Erica’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are urged to contact the Cape Coral Police Department at (238) 574-3223.
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