GOODVIEW, Minn. — Search crews are bracing against brutal winter elements as they attempt for a second day to find a southeastern Minnesota woman who disappeared in the subzero cold.
Goodview police say 31-year-old Leigh Elizabeth Meska was last seen at her residence Wednesday morning. Police say she was driving to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, something that did not match her usual routine.
“Normally she takes the bus that Mayo employees use, but she was running late today, so she drove,” said Goodview Police Chief Kent Russell.
Meska is described as 5-foot-3, 125 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair. She was wearing black leggings, a sweater and a red jacket. She was driving a gray 2014 Chevy Impala with Minnesota license plates 136 MWK.
Winona County Sheriff Ron Gandrude tells KARE 11 that deputies from both Olmstead and Winona Counties, and officers from Goodview, Rochester and other communities are driving and searching less-traveled township and back roads between Winona and Rochester after searching the main routes yesterday. The State Patrol helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol will look from the sky. He acknowledged that the frigid conditions are making a touch job even tougher.
"These weather conditions make it tough on everything, everybody," Gandrude reflected. "If she somehow went off the road... it's bad."
Gandrude says investigators are examining all possibilities in her disappearance, talking to Meska's family, fiancee and friends. They are also looking into her phone records.
Anyone who sees Meska or her vehicle is asked to call Goodview police at 507-452-1500, or Winona County Law Enforcement Dispatch at 507-457-6492.
