Missing Virginia woman found safe

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico police said late Friday afternoon that missing mother Connie Ditto has been found safe.

Capt. Linda Toney with Henrico police would only say that Ditto was safe, but would not elaborate on where or how she was found.

Police said this is an ongoing investigation and additional information may still be released.

Ditto’s husband Mark said no one had seen or heard from his wife since Tuesday night when she checked into Patient First in Short Pump complaining of head pains.

“I am clueless as to what happened,” Mark Ditto said.

Connie Ditto, 41, is the owner of Organic Hair Studio located in the Phenix Salon Suites at West Broad Village, her husband said. Mark added he spoke with his wife Tuesday night around 8 p.m. while she was at work.

“She said she wasn’t feeling well and was going to go to a walk-in clinic,” he said.

That clinic was the Patient First on Pump Road near West Broad Street in Short Pump. Police later told Mark Ditto his wife checked in at the Patient First that night, but left before her name was called.

Mark said his wife texted him from Patient First and told him not to come. She said she was being sent to the hospital for X-rays. Mark later learned that was not true and his wife left before seeing a doctor. Connie Ditto’s cell phone was turned off after that final text exchange.

“Why did she turn her phone off?” a confused Mark Ditto asked rhetorically.

Ditto said he and his teenage step-daughters, Connie’s biological children, drove to Patient First and then to hospitals looking for Connie. They could not find her. The next morning Ditto filed a missing person’s report.

Henrico Police confirmed officers were investigating the case. On Wednesday, Mark Ditto said he drove around Short Pump looking for hidden places Connie may have crashed.

He said his wife has battled both alcohol abuse and depression in her life.

Last week, he said, she hurt her head in a fall. Mark Ditto said he feared her disappearance may be the result of an internal injury she either failed to disclose or did not know about.

“I fear she’s driven off somewhere, that’s she’s blacked out and gone,” Mark Ditto said.

As police check credit card reports, hoping for a hit, Connie’s customers continue to show up at the salon for appointments.

“It’s not like her not to cancel appointments,” Mark Ditto said.