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Raffaella Stroik was last seen on Monday in Town and Country.
Original story follows
A St. Louis ballerina has gone missing, and investigators are asking for help after finding her empty car in a parking lot next to Mark Twain Lake.
Raffaella Maria Stroik, 23, was last seen about 10:30 a.m. on Monday at the Whole Foods Market in Town and Country.
Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Stroik joined the St. Louis Ballet in 2017. The company described her in a Facebook post as a "talented and undeniably beautiful soul" and pleaded for anyone with information to contact the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Captain James Wilt, commander of patrol Troop B, says in a news release that a park ranger spotted Stroik's 2012 Volkswagen Jetta on Monday in the lot next to a boat ramp off of Mark Twain State Park Highway 107 in rural Monroe County. A computer check of the license plates didn't turn up any missing person reports, but the vehicle was still there at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday when a state trooper checked the area.
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Raffaella Stroik's car after it was recovered by troopers. License plate photo blacked out by police.
After investigating further, troopers and park rangers say they discovered Stroik had not returned home and couldn't be found. They're now searching the surrounding areas and ask anyone with information to call.
Stroik is described as 5 foot 7, about 115 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing an olive green jacket, long pink scarf, navy-colored pants with white zippers on the sides and white tennis shoes when she was last seen.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 660-385-2132.
COURTESY MSHP
Raffaella Stroik's vehicle was found near Mark Twain State Park Lake.
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