Police are asking the public for help in trying to find a Fairfield woman who has been missing more than two weeks.
Valerie Tieman, 34, of Norridgewock Road, was reportedly last seen Aug. 30 when she was with her husband, Luc Tieman, at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Skowhegan, Maine State Police said in a press release Thursday.
She was in the couple’s pickup truck — a red Chevy Silverado — while Luc Tieman went into the store, and she was reportedly gone when he returned a short time later, police said.
In an interview, Luc Tieman said his wife of two years has “run off” previously, though he wouldn’t elaborate further.
She was reported missing to the Fairfield Police Department on Sept. 9 by her parents, who live out of state, according to police, who said Valerie is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 165 pounds and has short brown hair and brown eyes. State Police joined the investigation Tuesday and asked that anyone with information on her whereabouts should call authorities at 624-7076.
Fairfield police on Thursday referred questions about the case to state police, who did not return a call seeking comment.
Emily Fournier, a friend of the Tiemans from Fairfield, said Valerie is a kind person who would do anything for anyone. She had acted with the Recycled Shakespeare Co., which Fournier’s family runs, and played Fournier’s sister in “The Comedy of Errors.” After that, they referred to each other as “sister,” Fournier said.
Valerie Tieman was cast as the lead female role in “Titus Andronicus” and was supposed to have picked her script up at Fournier’s house in August and attend rehearsals, but she never showed up, according to Fournier.
“I saw her August 9 at our house,” Fournier said Thursday. “She came over and trimmed my hair for me. Usually she seemed really happy, but last time I saw her I thought she didn’t look quite right. She told me she had been sick the week prior, so I chalked it up to that.”
Fournier said Valerie Tieman, who had moved here from South Carolina, where her parents live, never had a bad word for anyone. The Tiemans had attended dinner parties at Fournier’s family home, she said.
“She is a sweet girl and has those good southern values — sweet as sugar and she is friendly and outgoing,” Fournier said.
She said Valerie Tieman, who had once played Lady Macbeth, seemed thrilled about being in “Titus.”
“When she came over, she was so excited,” Fournier said. “I even pulled out a costume I wanted her to try on. She was really excited about it.”
Fournier said she is frightened to think of what could have happened to Valerie Tieman, whom she tried to text, but received no response. “The whole thing is just so terrifying in so many different ways,” she said.
Contacted Thursday via Facebook, Luc Tieman wrote that “this isn’t the first time she’s run off,” but he would always be able to catch her and “talk her sense to come back.”
“I’m just so exhausted right now trying to find her, everyone is talking to me and I have to tell them all everything,” he wrote, while not responding to requests for a phone interview.
He said he thinks she may be with a man from a previous relationship, “but I don’t even care I just want her to not feel bad and come back,” he wrote.
Asked if there is anything he would say to her, he replied: “I would say I love her and don’t care about the past, just come back please or at least let your family know.”
Deana Lynne Hewston, of Perth, Scotland, said she and Valerie Tieman were close when they attended Hampton Park Christian School in Greenville, South Carolina, their high school, but had moved to different parts of the U.S. after graduating. Valerie Tieman loved drama and was a great hairstylist and cosmetologist, though Fournier said she was a homemaker and did not work while living in Fairfield.
Hewston said she moved to Scotland a year ago, but she and Valerie Tieman stayed in touch via email and she watched for her Facebook postings.
“She was, in high school, a fun, energetic person,” Hewston said in response to questions sent to her via Facebook Thursday. “I have many memories of us being silly, especially near the end of our high school years.”
She said she is concerned about Valerie Tieman and is watching for any news updates.
“I know we all change as we move on, but it doesn’t seem like Vally to just up and walk off without at least letting her family know,” Hewston said.
She said Valerie Tieman was in a Bible study group and, like Hewston, was “faithful in church and had a personal relationship with God.”
“I don’t know if words could describe how I felt when I heard she was missing. My heart aches deeply. We might not have been overly close after high school, but I still felt a special bond with her. I’m praying that she will be found safe.”
Like Hewston, Fournier said it is hard to wrap one’s head around her disappearance.
“I’ve spent very few moments not crying,” Fournier said. “She’s such a wonderful person, and to not know where she is and what’s happening is terrifying.”
Requests sent to Valerie Tieman’s parents and in-laws for comment Thursday were not returned, as were Facebook messages sent to some of her Facebook friends.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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