New Orleans police are asking for the public’s help in locating 26-year-old Terrilynn Monnette, who was last seen on Saturday, at 5 a.m., at Parlay’s bar in the 800 block of Harrison Avenue in Lakeview. Monnette’s mother told police that Monnette had gone to the bar at 3:30 a.m. and was last seen sleeping in her vehicle in the rear parking lot about an hour later.
Police said Monnette was last seen with several acquaintances, but a family member said they are still trying to determine who was with her at the bar. Monnette allegedly told her acquaintances that she was going to sleep in her car before driving home because she had had a few drinks.
Police say a witness told detectives that he saw Monnette in the parking lot at about 4 a.m. with an unidentified man. Monnette has not been seen nor heard from since.
Monnette works as a second-grade teacher at Woodland West Elementary School in Harvey. She came to New Orleans from California in 2011 as a fellow with TeachNOLA, a nonprofit group that places educators in metro area schools. She began working at the Harvey school after completing the program.
“She is a very sweet person, said Natasha Ceaser, Monnette’s cousin. “For something like this to happen is not like her at all.”
Ceaser said she sees Monnette every weekend, and became worried when she did not hear from her on Sunday. “For her not to show up and not to call, and her phone to go to voicemail, that’s not like her,” Ceaser said.
Monnette is described as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and weighs 180 pounds. She has a light brown complexion with long brown hair. She was last seen wearing a pink and yellow sweater with blue jeans. Monnette has a tattoo on her left leg.
Police ask anyone with information on this missing person case, including the location of Monnette’s 2012 black two-door Honda Accord, Louisiana license plate WUN494, to contact NOPD at 504.821.2222.
Friends have established the Terrilynn Monnette Fund at Regions Bank to aid Monnette’s family with their search efforts and accommodations while they are in New Orleans.