Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Michigan authorities are searching for a woman who's been missing for more than a month, and whose last words to relatives indicated she'd somehow wandered into the middle of a gunfight.
Adrienne Quintal, 47, was last heard from on Oct. 17 when she was believed to be at her cabin in the woods near Traverse City, Mich. On the phone call, she said she'd become involved in a shootout involving two men, her family said.
But the details of her story have investigators wondering if it may have been part of a ruse.
Quintal said on the call she'd shot one of the men and was actively fighting with the other. A friend on the line heard gunfire and called 911.
Authorities said they later found a strange set of clues at her empty cabin. Bullet holes pocked windows, they said, and indicated shots were fired from inside the cabin. They did not, however, find any evidence of injury. Her handgun was found outside, her vehicle was parked a short distance away and her boots and cellphone had been tossed onto the cabin's roof.
"It is gut-wrenching," said sister Jenny Bryson. "I lay awake every night wondering where she is."
Officials said Quintal's boyfriend, the last person to see her, is a person of interest but not a suspect.
Investigators said they have multiple theories for the disappearance. They are looking into the possibilities she may have been abducted, experienced a medical problem or staged her disappearance.
Acquaintances said Quintal had recently fought health issues, including a concussion in July, and was laid off by her employer.
"We've not ruled anyone out as a suspect or ruled out any possible theories on what could have occurred," Benzie County Sheriff's Office Det. Lt. Troy Lamerson told the Detroit Free Press.
Relatives are offering a $25,000 reward for information about Quintal's disappearance.
