Wausau Pilot & Review
UPDATED: A Wausau native and Newman High School graduate reported missing in Washington, D.C. has been found in Qatar, family members report.
The circumstances surrounding her disappearance have not been released. Her family says she is safe.
See our earlier reporting below.
A 24-year-old Wausau woman has been reported missing in Washington, D.C., where she is a student.
Taylor Hackel was last seen Monday near Catholic University of America’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Hackel, a graduate student at the university, was officially reported missing on Wednesday.
Hackel is described as a white woman who is 5’4” tall, 130 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a tan sweater, white shirt and black pants, according to the MPD.
The police report does not indicate Hackel is in immediate danger, according to Fox News. But a missing poster states that the missing woman’s vehicle was found parked at Centro Maria, a Catholic residence for young women in D.C., and her debit card was last used at an ATM in the country of Georgia.
Hackel graduated from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and was selected for a prestigious fellowship through the National Institute of Health, according to an article on UWL’s website.
She is an active volunteer, collecting excess food with the university’s Food Recovery Network to donate to the hungry, according to the article. She also served meals at the Salvation Army, assisted at the local Catholic Charities Warming Center and became pen pals with prisoners.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Hackel’s whereabouts to contact MPD’s Youth and Family Services Division at 202-727-9099.
