Overview
- Surveillance footage reviewed by local media shows 16-year-old Sophia Veronica Cover leaving her Golden Gate Estates home on 62nd Avenue Northeast at about 12:45 a.m. on July 31.
- Authorities describe Sophia as about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 115 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes and say she was wearing a dark hoodie and carrying a backpack when she was last seen.
- Collier County deputies have opened a multi-agency investigation that includes local law enforcement and search efforts but officials report they have found no confirmed sightings or new leads so far.
- Sophia’s father, Richard Cover, has led public appeals and community searches and told reporters he does not believe his daughter would leave voluntarily, saying the family moved to the area roughly four months ago.
- Investigators ask anyone with information to contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300 as searches continue and neighbors remain on alert.