Faleena Hopkins, missing romance author, found safe

Faleena Hopkins, a romance writer who disappeared shortly after she was released from jail late last month, has been found safe.

Authorities in Wyoming did not say where they located 52-year-old Hopkins, but they confirmed she was found alive and well on Friday in a statement to Fox News.

“She is safe and her family has been notified,” Jackson Police Department Lt. Russ Ruschill said. “She is no longer considered a missing person.”

Hopkins was arrested on Jan. 27, after she led cops on a high-speed chase — with speeds topping 90 mph — through Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in Jackson. The dramatic pursuit dragged out for nearly 24 miles before authorities finally managed to stop her vehicle with a spike strip.

About an hour before the chase, park officials pulled her car from the snow and she was cited for “operating a non-oversnow vehicle in an oversnow route.” She was then approached again by authorities because her vehicle was stopped in the middle of the road.

Hopkins was booked into the Teton County Jail and then freed on Jan. 30 before she seemingly vanished and was reported missing by a concerned family member.

Upon her release from jail, she purchased a new phone and authorities, using surveillance footage, determined she then traveled to Jackson Airport.

Police earlier this week requested help from authorities in Hawaii, after Hopkins’ phone seemingly pinged between Wailua and Kapaa on Kauai. Her phone also pinged near a Walmart in Līhuʻe.

Best known for penning the “Cocker Brother” series, the raunchy writer in 2018 notoriously launched a bid to trademark the word “cocky.” Her success, however, triggered intense outrage from other writers in the romance community, so she eventually abandoned the trademark status.

Hopkins is due back in court on February 28. She’s facing charges including stopping or parking on the roadway, fleeing or attempting to elude police and driving in excess of the posted speed limit.

“The Jackson Police Department would like to extend our thanks to the law enforcement agencies who assisted in this investigation as well as the members of the press and citizens who ultimately assisted in locating Ms. Hopkins,” Ruschill said.