Found Safe WY - Faleena Hopkins, 52, romance novelist, Grand Teton National Park, 30 Jan 2023

[imstilla.grandma]

A romance novelist who was arrested after fleeing from officers in Grand Teton National Park has been reported missing by friends and family since Jan. 30.
Faleena Hopkins, 52, was arrested Jan. 27 after National Park Service officers saw her parked in the road at Jackson Lake Junction. She led them on a 24-mile high-speed chase that forced officers to deploy spike strips to deflate her tires.
A friend of Hopkins reached out to the Jackson Hole Daily by email Friday, saying Hopkins had been missing for 10 days.

Hopkins, a well-known author of a series of self-published “Cocker Brother” romance novels, is listed on the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Missing Persons page.

Hopkins made national headlines in 2018 when she registered for and received a trademark on the word “cocky.”

After outcry from other novelists, Hopkins ultimately decided to surrender her trademark registrations.

Among Hopkins’ federal charges from Jan. 27 include stopping or parking on the roadway, operating in excess of the posted speed limit and fleeing or attempting to elude police.

In the court documents, Hopkins listed “Jackson, 83001” as her address, despite the jail roster and park officials identifying her as a resident of Seattle, Washington.

The DCI’s missing person profile said Hopkins was last seen in Jackson on Jan. 30, the same day Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Rankin released Hopkins from Teton County jail.

“She is a white female, approximately 5’7”, 135 pounds, with green eyes and blond hair,” the webpage said. “Faleena has an infinity symbol on her left wrist, ‘Follow All Instincts’ on her right wrist, a lion face on her left shoulder and a hummingbird on her right ankle.”

Hopkins is due to appear in federal court at 10 a.m. on Feb. 28 for an arraignment.

Anyone with information or contact with Hopkins has been asked to contact the Jackson Police Department at (307) 733-1430 or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at (307) 777-7181.

Romance novelist involved in Park chase now a missing person

A romance novelist who was arrested after fleeing from officers in Grand Teton National Park has been reported missing by friends and family since Jan. 30.

www.jhnewsandguide.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Backstory following up on post:

Romantic novelist's trademarking of word 'cocky' sparks outcry

Faleena Hopkins, whose works include Cocky Romantic and Cocky Cowboy, is said to have written to other writers asserting her right to the adjective in titles

www.theguardian.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Faleena Hopkins was last seen on Jan. 30 in Teton County, Wyoming, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation reported on its website. The blonde-haired, green-eyed author was arrested just three days earlier after a run-in with federal officers that ended after she led them on a 24-mile chase, the Jackson Hole Daily reported.

According to the report, agents with the National Parks Service initially approached the 52-year-old on Jan. 27, after spotting her vehicle stopped in the road in the area of Jackson Lake Junction in Grand Teton National Park. She allegedly drove off and took police on the high-speed pursuit that only ended after authorities unleashed spike strips along the roadway to puncture her tires, according to the report.

Court records show she was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude police officers, stopping or parking upon the roadway, operating a vehicle in excess of the posted speed limit, failing to comply with a traffic control device and operating a vehicle without due care.

Romance author missing days after leading police on chase through Grand Teton National Park: Cops

Faleena Hopkins, a romance novelist known for her steamy tomes and a failed attempt to trademark the word "cocky," has been missing for two weeks from Jackson, Wyoming.

www.foxnews.com

https://www.youtube.com/@faleenahopkins244

 

[realanastasia]

The missing woman penned this essay explaining her perspective on “cockygate”:

It’s been almost a year since the #cockygate chaos began, but something happened in the publishing…

I often urge the women in my life to stand up for themselves since throughout history we’d been taught not to. Now I’ve got to walk the…

medium.com

I wonder if the public humiliation that resulted from her failed attempt to trademark her novels’ “brand”, plus her recent arrest precipitated a mental health crisis, maybe even resulting in self-harm?

 

[deadfoot13]

The missing woman penned this essay explaining her perspective on “cockygate”:

It’s been almost a year since the #cockygate chaos began, but something happened in the publishing…

I often urge the women in my life to stand up for themselves since throughout history we’d been taught not to. Now I’ve got to walk the…

medium.com

I wonder if the public humiliation that resulted from her failed attempt to trademark her novels’ “brand”, plus her recent arrest precipitated a mental health crisis, maybe even resulting in self-harm?

Based on the information out there surrounding the whole "cockygate" thing, I'm inclined to think that she was already experiencing mental health issues. It's not been explained why she was parked in the road or what made her try to run from park police, so I wonder if she was experiencing some fear, rational or not, that has caused her to take steps to hide herself since her release from jail.

In contrast to the linked essay where she states that she was really only trying to trademark the manner in which the word "cocky" was displayed on the cover of any book not written by her, the articles in MSM all reference the court battle over the use of the word itself, not the font or artwork used to form the letters of the word, and she pursued cease and desist actions against other other authors demanding they change titles of books they had already published and stop using the work "cocky" in their titles. That behavior seems a little beyond your basic hubris.

Romance writer's bid to stop authors from using word 'cocky' fails in court

Self-published author Faleena Hopkins asserted her right to the word, but judge calls attempt to stop other authors using it ‘weak’

www.theguardian.com

MOO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Dbm

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Around the time Hopkins came to Jackson, fellow author Suzan Tisdale told the News&Guide that someone “pulled all of [Hopkins’] books off Amazon” and that Hopkins went dark on all of her social media accounts.

Before the scrub, Hopkins had nearly 50 titles listed on Amazon. Tisdale is a fellow member of an “indie author” community that includes self-published authors who don’t have traditional publishing contracts.

Friends and family registered Hopkins as a missing person through the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, saying that after she was released from Teton County Jail at noon on Jan. 30, she hadn’t been seen or heard from.

According to Clayton Platt and Troy Sutton of the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, when Hopkins was booked into jail, she did not have her cellphone, according to the property sheet, nor did she have her phone when she was discharged Jan. 30.

According to Lt. Russ Ruschill of the Jackson Police Department, Hopkins boarded a flight to Salt Lake City the afternoon she was released from jail. Ruschill said officers contacted the Salt Lake City airport, where staff confirmed that Hopkins exited the aircraft in Utah that evening.

Ruschill said Hopkins left her vehicle, a red 2020 Kia Soul, and her dog here in Jackson. According to the animal shelter, “extended family” picked up the dog, Sophia, on Thursday.

Missing author no longer in Jackson, police say

It almost reads like a novel.

www.jhnewsandguide.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Wyoming police suspect she may be on the Garden Isle after her cell phone pinged recently between Wailua and Kapaa. Police added that her phone also pinged in the area of the Walmart in Lihue.

Missing romance novelist sought by Wyoming police believed to be on Kauai

Authorities said she disappeared a day after being released from jail for leading Wyoming police on a high speed chase.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

 

[DAMages]

We have mutual Facebook friends, and a search of her name on Facebook will pull up some of their frantic public posts. IMHO, it's likely that the mental health issues preceded the police chase, and not that she's a fugitive that had a mental health break and went missing.

Seems like she's flying to multiple states from this article saying she's in Utah:

Missing author flew to Salt Lake City; friends and family still searching

A romance novelist listed as a missing person in Wyoming has left the state and was last thought to be in Utah, according to law enforcement.

www.jhnewsandguide.com

 

[Detectivediva]

Looks like a new article was published..

Missing romance novelist tracked to Salt Lake City airport, then Hawaii after disappearing following arrest

A romance novelist previously known for her steamy tomes and a failed attempt to trademark the word "cocky" has been missing for weeks as authorities fear she is in danger.

www.foxnews.com

Just started following (my husband sends me links for cases he thinks I might like). Gotta catch up but I agree with previous comments that likely mental health crisis/possible self harm.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Looks like a new article was published..

Missing romance novelist tracked to Salt Lake City airport, then Hawaii after disappearing following arrest

A romance novelist previously known for her steamy tomes and a failed attempt to trademark the word "cocky" has been missing for weeks as authorities fear she is in danger.

www.foxnews.com

Just started following (my husband sends me links for cases he thinks I might like). Gotta catch up but I agree with previous comments that likely mental health crisis/possible self harm.

Thanks so much. This case is starting to move. From your link:

Two weeks later, investigators pinged Hopkins’ new cellphone to the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Feb. 14, Ruschill told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Hawaiian authorities are now involved with the search.

Ruschill noted that police are currently grappling with "a two-week window" during which they don’t know Hopkins’ movements.

Ruschill noted that police cannot confirm that Hopkins is with the cellphone but said the device was turned off after investigators tried to leave a message.

"I’d say it is reasonable whomever has Ms. Hopkins (sic) phone did not want to speak to us," he said. "We can’t say it is Ms. Hopkins, but it is her phone."

 

[Detectivediva]

I wonder if Hawaii is a special place to her or has any significance. I'll research more (after work) to see if I can find out more. This case has a lot of interesting aspects.

 

[WingsOverTX]

I'm not following. Does she not have the right to disappear? Are LE just wanting to do a welfare check?

I realize her friends & family are concerned but it doesn't sound like she is endangered to me.

JMO

 

[WingsOverTX]

Thanks so much. This case is starting to move. From your link:

Two weeks later, investigators pinged Hopkins’ new cellphone to the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Feb. 14, Ruschill told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Hawaiian authorities are now involved with the search.

Ruschill noted that police are currently grappling with "a two-week window" during which they don’t know Hopkins’ movements.

Ruschill noted that police cannot confirm that Hopkins is with the cellphone but said the device was turned off after investigators tried to leave a message.

"I’d say it is reasonable whomever has Ms. Hopkins (sic) phone did not want to speak to us," he said. "We can’t say it is Ms. Hopkins, but it is her phone."

FROM THE ARTICLE:
But a woman who identifies herself as Hopkins’ sister wrote on Facebook that Hopkins was alone and did not realize the man approaching her – who was driving a truck – was a law enforcement officer. She later learned he was a park ranger.

"EVERYONE WHO KNOWS FALEENA knows that the idea of her running from the police is ludicrous," the woman, who goes by the name Shann Maureen, wrote. "At the time, she was already in crisis mode and she did NOT recognize this person as law enforcement."

The woman went on to write that her sister decided to drive until she found a public area where she felt safe.

"Upon exiting the park, there were two (clearly marked) police cruisers and she pulled over," she went on. "She was not running FROM them… she was running TO them."

The woman added: "I hope this info serves to help you all make a bit more sense of this story. Everything we know about who Faleena is just doesn’t jive with the idea of her running from police. She has no criminal record, zero history of any type of substance abuse, no DUI’s, no abuse of alcohol, etc."

Hokpins' sister did not respond to Fox News Digital's message seeking comment.

 

[Veronica Sawyer]

As a romance reader and sometimes writer myself I remember the “cockygate” ordeal very well. On one hand I’m inclined to agree with everyone who suspects unchecked mental health issues. But then I’m reminded that she is a writer and as creatives we can fall off the grid on a whim if inspiration strikes. It could be a mix of both.

Something possibly worth noting - she rebranded in the fall of 2022 (possibly to coincide with her last book release in November). She attempted a slight rebrand in 2021 with new cover designs but it wasn’t until the fall of 2022 that she actually overhauled the series (and her book app) in look and name. She dropped the words “cocky” and “cocker” from all the books in her series (OG: The Cocker Brothers) that sparked the highly publicized trademark fiasco, changing their titles entirely. This was in addition to dropping her last name, which had obviously been heavily publicized and negatively regarded in the “cockygate” fallout. Rebranding books is not particularly uncommon but in most cases it occurs when publication rights transfer hands in some fashion (ex: moving to a new publishing house or reverting book rights back to OG author) or there is a legal issue, as it is otherwise considered risky and costly. Faleena however is a self-published author but given the “cockygate” notoriety the most recent rebrand could make more marketing sense for her. With that said, she rebranded this series once before (upon acquiring the “cocky” trademark) but 2022’s rebrand is noticeably more significant in that she didn’t just rebrand her books but herself too. She even dropped her last name on IMDB, so her rebrand to simply go by ‘Faleena’ was clearly not a change made to solely apply to her career path forward as an author but rather a universal change intended to serve across all professions.

I realize this post is more backstory than present day situation in theme but figured if applied to what we know about her disappearance it could maybe help in theorizing.

/JMO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Romance novelist Faleena Hopkins has been located safe and sound after disappearing for more than two weeks following a high-speed chase through Grand Teton National Park and a weekend in jail in Wyoming.

Lt. Russ Ruschill with the Jackson Police Department, which was leading the search for Hopkins, declined to elaborate about how or where Hopkins eventually turned up.

After leaving Jackson, Wyoming, the 52-year-old author, who lives in Seattle, Washington, landed briefly in Salt Lake City before then traveling on to Lihue, Kauai County, Hawaii, Ruschill said, adding the missing person case is officially closed.

Romance Novelist Faleena Hopkins, Who Disappeared After Wyoming…

Romance novelist Faleena Hopkins has been located safe and sound after disappearing for more than two weeks following a high-speed chase through Grand…

cowboystatedaily.com

*but I want details…

 

[azure]

*but I want details…

Right! She sure did move around a lot in the past two weeks!

 

[deadfoot13]

I found this regarding the outcome of Ms. Hopkins' charges:

Fugitive romance novelist gets fine, probation

A romance novelist who led park rangers on a high-speed chase and later became a fugitive agreed to a plea deal on Wednesday and received a fine and probation.

www.jhnewsandguide.com