‘Devastated and extremely worried’: Daughter of Taunton mayor missing from Ohio mental health facility

Riley O’Connell, the 18-year-old daughter of Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, is missing from a mental health facility in a Columbus, Ohio, suburb, according to the mayor and law enforcement officials.

The mayor’s daughter had been staying at Evoke Wellness Center in Hilliard, Ohio, for about five weeks to receive treatment for mental health issues when she left the facility, Mayor O’Connell told Boston.com Wednesday evening.

“She just took off from the facility without any money or phone, and she does not have any medication,” the mayor said. “She is on medication for her mental health issues and she needs her medication.”

Riley O’Connell was last seen early Wednesday morning on Scioto Darby Road in Hilliard, wearing black shorts and a pink shirt, according to Hilliard police. She has long blonde hair with red tips, weighs approximately 125 pounds, and is 5-foot-5-inches tall.

A poster for Riley O’Connell shared by her mother says she may be going by aliases such as Tiffany Rose or Tiffany Silva.

“Ted and I are devastated and extremely worried about [Riley’s] safety and well being,” the mayor said of herself and her husband in a Facebook post.

Mayor O’Connell said her daughter has long dealt with mental health issues, but has never before gone missing like this. She is now working closely with Hilliard and Taunton police to locate her daughter.

The mayor said it’s possible that her daughter might contact someone she knows from home, or that she might travel to Massachusetts. Anyone who sees or hears from Riley O’Connell is asked to contact Hilliard police at (614) 334-2324.

“I want to tell her how much we love her and that she needs to find somewhere safe where she can call us and come home,” the mayor said.

Evoke Wellness is a Florida-based mental health and addiction treatment company with facilities in Florida, Ohio, and Massachusetts. It offers a variety of programs to treat a wide range of mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Mayor O’Connell said the family chose the Ohio facility because it offered programs the Massachusetts facility didn’t.

Evoke Wellness did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

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