Portsmouth Police Mystery Calls: Missing Grandkids and the Woman Trapped in Storage

Police officers spend plenty of time chasing criminals. Sometimes, they're chasing mysteries. Portsmouth police responded to two unusual calls this week that left officers searching for missing people who weren't actually missing and a woman who may not have existed at all. 👵 THE CASE OF THE MISSING GRANDCHILDREN Around 12:30 a.m., officers were called to a residence after a woman reported that her grandchildren had been missing for hours. The woman told police she believed her 18-year-old granddaughter and 14-year-old grandson were missing. She also reported that her daughter was gone. As officers investigated, the story began to unravel. Police were able to contact the woman's daughter and learned that the "missing" grandchildren were actually adults—ages 19 and 24. More importantly, nobody was missing. According to the report, officers determined the family members were safe and not in danger. Police noted the woman appeared to be suffering from possible mental health issues and she was transported to Southern Ohio Medical Center for evaluation. 📦 THE CASE OF THE PHANTOM STORAGE UNIT A few hours later, around 5 a.m., Portsmouth police were dispatched to Washington Street after a woman repeatedly called 911 claiming she was locked inside a storage unit. The problem? She couldn't tell dispatchers which storage unit she was supposedly trapped inside. Officers responded and began checking the facility. They located one unlocked unit and knocked repeatedly but received no answer. They checked additional storage units and found no signs of distress. One man at the facility even opened his unit so officers could verify nobody was inside. Police searched multiple areas of the property and reported: No cries for help No signs of forced entry No evidence anyone was trapped No indication of an emergency situation After checking the facility, officers were unable to locate anyone matching the caller's description or anyone in need of assistance. 🤔 WHEN POLICE CHASE GHOSTS Calls like these are more common than many people realize. Officers frequently respond to reports that turn out to involve: Mental health crises Confusion or memory issues Misunderstandings False information Situations that simply don't exist by the time police arrive While neither call resulted in criminal charges, both required officers to spend time and resources making sure someone wasn't actually in danger. Fortunately, in both cases, nobody was found to be missing, trapped, or injured. Which, as mysteries go, is probably the best possible ending.

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