Police search area where missing woman’s car was found in Madison County

A search was ongoing Friday for a missing 21-year-old college student after her car was found abandoned in Madison County.

Melissa Oelke left her home in St. Peters, Missouri, about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, leaving her cellphone behind.

Oelke visited a Target store near her home that Thursday morning, then a Schnucks store in Chesterfield, Missouri, and then a Walgreens in Florissant, Missouri, at mid-morning, according to her father, Gerald Oelke.

Around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, St. Jacob police received a call reporting an abandoned vehicle on Keck Road about a mile east of Illinois 4. Interstate 70 is about three miles away. St. Jacob is about 35 miles east of Florissant.

Oelke attended the College of Creative Studies, a private art and design school in Detroit, Michigan, her father said. She completed her midterms and seemed stressed. She decided to extend her spring break and take care of her mental health, Gerald Oelke said. He speculated that perhaps she was trying to return to school.

“Melissa has several medical conditions that require attention, and there is concern for her well‑being,” the St. Peters Police Department said in a news release.

On Friday afternoon, Melissa Oelke’s car remained at the scene. Police set up around the small creek where the car appeared to go down an embankment. The dash cam video had been removed, Gerald Oelke said.

Illinois Emergency Management Agency personnel flew drones over a wooded area near farm fields. Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputies were on all-terrain vehicles. A K-9 and his handler worked in the area and an Illinois State Police plane circled overhead.

Melissa Oelke is 5-foot, 4 inches tall, 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing a Mossy Oak olive green hoodie, baggy jeans and may be carrying a purse made from a pair of denim jeans.

Anyone with information on Oelke’s whereabouts is urged to call a local police station or the St. Peters Police Department at 636‑278‑2222.