Sophia Veronica Cover, 16, was last seen leaving her home in Golden Gate Estates at about 12:45 a.m. on July 31.
Deputies say Sophia Veronica Cover was last seen leaving her home in Golden Gate Estates at about 12:45 a.m. on July 31. She is 5 feet 7 inches tall and approximately 115 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes.
Her father Rick Cover noticed her missing from the family’s home and then saw from family security cameras that Sophia left the home with a large, seemingly heavy bag.
The family lives at the 3600 block of 62nd Ave NE.
Having only lived there a few months and spending just a few weeks at a Collier County high school, she doesn’t have many local connections.
“She couldn’t walk far with a heavy bag,” he said in an interview with Florida Weekly. “I know my daughter. She’s not running away without assistance.”
Surveillance footage reviewed by WZVN showed Sophia leaving her house on 62nd Avenue Northeast while wearing a dark hoodie and backpack.
“Last thing I said to her was, ‘Tomorrow, in the morning, I want you to get up in the morning and make breakfast with me before I go to work,'” he recalled. She agreed.
“I discovered Friday morning she was missing,” Rick said.
“Police were here in 30 minutes.” “I didn’t tell the entire family right away. I thought she’d be back,” he said. “By noon Friday the whole family was aware,” said the single father.
The family moved to the area in February from the Philadelphia area.
Sophia had been grounded about a month ago and had her devices taken away. Her father said he made a clone of her phone to monitor communications, but there has been no activity.
He contacted her friends back in Philadelphia, but no one has seen or heard from her.
“I have buried myself into finding her,” Richard Cover told ABC affiliate WZVN of his daughter, 16-year-old Sophia Veronica Cover, who disappeared on July 31.
“I’m focusing on… going through every social media post we can from even friends, so we can see if there’s a glimpse of anyone.”
“My instinct is that somebody on the internet somehow was talking to her and convinced her they’d do something for her,” he said.
“Whether it was a ride back to Philly to see a best friend or what enticed her out, he doesn’t know.”
In the viral moment captured on security footage, Sophia left her family’s home on 62nd Avenue Northeast in the predawn hours of July 31, dressed in a dark hoodie and carrying a large backpack. Her father discovered she was gone Friday morning when he went to wake her for breakfast. The surveillance video showed her departing with a heavy bag, puzzling to her father who believes she lacks the strength to walk far with such a load.
Her father said Sophia has never run away before.
The family lives in a remote area of Golden Gate Estates, and her father fears someone may have picked her up after she left on foot.
“And, if you’re out there on your own, it’s really easy to come home,” Richard said. “You can go to any police officer. You can go to any adult that is safe.”
Anyone with information on Sophia’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office at 239-252-9300.