Model Ataui Deng Found In New York Hospital After Being Missing Nearly Two Weeks
The New York Police Department said they found model Ataui Deng, who disappeared on Aug. 6, at a local hospital.
UPDATED — Aug. 19, 1:05 a.m. ET: Deng was found alive at an area hospital Monday night, police said.
Police were given a tip that she was at the hospital, New York Daily News reported. It is not clear why she was admitted to the hospital, but Deng's friend Roblé said on Instagram, "She is safe and sound."
Deng was reported missing by her boyfriend Grant Monohon on Aug. 16, according to DNA Info. Monohon told police that Deng said she wanted to sleep in a park the last night she was seen.
Monohon had posted many photos over the past year of himself and Deng at nightclubs.
The New York Police Department asked for help Monday in the search for Ataui Deng, who has been missing for almost two weeks.
"Please, keep an open eye for Ataui Deng, she is a friend and a wonderful person. I pray for her safe return home," Vogue's September cover model Joan Smalls wrote on Instagram.
The model was reportedly last seen in Manhattan around midnight Aug. 6 outside of the nightclubs XVI Lounge and Attic Rooftop.
Deng's friend Roblé, who is a famous chef, said two other friends saw Deng near the Attic after a party for Major Model Management, according to the Village Voice.
The 22-year-old model was born in Khartoum, Sudan, and moved with her parents to San Antonio in 2004. She was later discovered in Dallas, during a model expo, and signed with Trump modeling agency in New York in 2008.
She moved to New York after finishing school in Texas in 2008 and has been living in New York's Lower East Side.
Court documents reveal Deng is in the process of divorcing husband Kortney Hopkins, who's also a model signed to Trump agency.
The New York Police Department said the model's full legal name is Ataui Deng Hopkins and described her as 6 foot 1 inch tall, weighing 110 lbs, black hair with dark complexion, and a thin build.
Deng has worked with L'Wren Scott, Proenza Schouler, Kenzo, and Zac Posen, and has appeared in editorials for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and more.
Almost 300 people have posted notices on Instagram for the missing model in the past six hours, since the NYPD released the bulletin asking for help locating the model.
Rihanna, whom Deng had been photographed hanging out with three months earlier, posted that Deng was missing as well:
If any one has any information on this young lady's whereabouts, please call the NYPD or email findataui@gmail.com
Rihanna@rihannaFollow
If any one has any information on this young lady's whereabouts, please call the NYPD or email findataui@gmail.com
1:44 PM - 18 Aug 14RetweetFavorite
Deng's last Instagram post is from Aug. 1, and features a picture of her and Wilmer Valderrama, the actor best-known for his role as Fez in That '70s Show.
More than 100 friends and fans have written beneath the post with messages such as "I hope you're ok" and "come home safe" and "Where are you?"
-
Michelle Broder Van Dyke is a breaking news reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Honolulu.
Contact Michelle Broder Van Dyke at michelle@buzzfeed.com.
Got a confidential tip? Submit it here.
