Despite a flurry of media attention, with reports of their disappearance spreading across the region, there has still been no sign of Greenport’s Iona Costello and her daughter Emily, 14.
The pair headed into New York on March 30 to see some shows and haven’t been seen or heard from since. Family members told SoutholdLOCAL this week that there has been no activity on either of their phones since the day they left the North Fork.
“We continue to investigate the missing person report for the Costellos and are receiving the assistance requested from NYPD,” Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said.
No missing poster has yet been released, he said.
Flatley said Emily’s disappearance “does not qualify for an Amber Alert. We do not have any new leads of information on this investigation, but we are working on it.”
Iona Costello has a farm in Greenport with animals that she loves — and it’s unlike her not to call and check on them, even while away, her family said this week.
Costello’s family filed a police report Wednesday as their concerns mounted after not hearing from her or her daughter Emily, 14, since the day the pair left to go to New York City to go to theater.
“We’re all kind of scratching our heads, trying to paste everything together and figure this out,” said Jane Costello, the niece of Iona’s husband, George, co-owner of Costello Marine in Greenport, who passed away of a heart attack two years ago.
“Iona loves her animals. That’s what makes us think this is an odd situation,” she said, adding that even when she travels, she always calls to ask how her animals are faring.
Costello and her daughter told staff at the farm that she would be “back on Tuesday,” leading her family to think she’d return on April 7. But, Costello said, there might “possibly have been a miscommunication,” because Emily was on spring break from The Ross School in East Hampton and not expected back for classes until this Tuesday, the 14th.
Iona and her daughter do love to travel, Costello said, so it would not be out of the question for the pair to have traveled out of the state or even the country — Iona has family in England, who have not heard from her.
“She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, but she’s like that. She might go off to see a friend, or on a long weekend,” Costello said.
Calls to their phones are unanswered, she said.
After Emily failed to return to class on Tuesday, the Costellos reported the pair missing to Southold Town Police.
Iona’s car was found in a parking garage on 42nd Street, Costello said, adding that mother and daughter love theater and art museums.
Nothing about a trip to New York would be out of the ordinary, “except we haven’t been able to contact them and Iona is usually very concerned about her animals.”
Iona is 51 years old, about 120 lbs, 5’10 and blonde; Emily is now tall as her mother, Costello said.
Flatley confirmed that the missing persons report was filed for Costello and her daughter, “who went on a trip to New York City and have not been heard from since March 30, 2015. Their family has been unable to contact her. At this time there is no reason to suspect any misconduct.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Southold Town Police at 631-765-2600.
