Search continues for missing pregnant Maryland teacher

OLNEY, Md. - A pregnant school teacher from Montgomery County remains missing as police continue to search for her.

Laura Wallen was last heard from on Monday when police say she sent a troubling text to a family member. Police would not go into what the text said or what it was about.

The 31-year-old is a beloved social studies teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, but she never showed up to her first day of school on Tuesday. It was a day she was looking forward to.

There has been an outpouring of support for Wallen online by her students and the Wilde Lake community. Students have been tweeting about her using the hashtag #bringwallenhome and leaving notes of support on her classroom door at school.

Wallen is described as 5'5" tall and weighs 200 pounds. She has blond hair, blue eyes and is around four months pregnant.

A pregnant school teacher from Montgomery County remains missing as police continue the search. Captain Paul Starks, director of public information for Montgomery County Police, joined us with the latest.

The Olney woman's family has asked for privacy at this time, but they are working closely with a team of Montgomery County police detectives assigned to investigate her disappearance.

At this time, police say they do not want to rule anything out or assume anything in this case, but they are troubled by her sudden disappearance.

"By all appearances, she seems to be just a solid and committed person who would not behave this way," said Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks. "She has been given awards as a teacher in the past. I think she enjoys a close relationship, not only with her sister, but with her parents. They all still live very close to one another in the Olney area, see each other frequently and communicate even more frequently by phone.

"The lack of contact, the no communication since Monday is completely out of character, and that has what has family and police concerned."

Wallen's car is also missing. It is described as black 2011 Ford Escape with Maryland tag M522473.

If you have any information about Wallen, you are asked to call police at 301-279-8000.