The husband of a missing teacher says he is anxious

A North Yarmouth elementary school teacher who disappeared from her home on Sunday night asked for help from an emergency doctor and had a "safety assessment" earlier in the day after feeling anxious, said her husband.

The details of 47-year-old Kristin Westra and her attempt to seek medical care were leaked by her husband, Jay, who for the first time spoke publicly about his wife's disappearance in an interview with NBC News.

"On Sunday morning, Kristin experienced what I would call some anxiety and she said that she had spent sleepless nights and that she was worried," Westra said.

Jay Westra, a pediatric oncology nurse, said he called a friend who was a "registered nurse practitioner" who arranged for his wife's visit that afternoon. He added that Kristin Westra had met the health professional – while he and his daughter were waiting outside – and had made an assessment that she was not likely to harm herself or anyone else. . After returning home, she went running, went to the grocery store, and they all had dinner together before going to bed, he said.

Kristin Westra, a teacher at Chebeague Island School, was last seen at the family's home on Lufkin Road when she went to bed with her husband at around 8pm. On Sunday, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said. She could not be found when her family woke up Monday morning, while her vehicle, keys and mobile phone were at home.

An intensive search began Monday afternoon, focusing on the wooded area around his house.

On Thursday morning, although the number of active search groups was reduced compared to the massive response on Monday, gamekeepers and detectives followed up on what the authorities initially believed to be credible information received late Wednesday night. possible Westra observation.

Optimism about the advance left room for disappointment on Thursday evening when Captain Scott Stewart of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said the information had been investigated and was not more taken into account.

Research dog teams that have returned to an area behind Westra's home have been slowed by brush and trees that are so dense in some areas that it is difficult to see objects located only a few meters away. from a distance, he said.

There is no indication that Westra was mounted in a vehicle and all available information suggests that she would be walking.

Although there is also no indication of foul play up to now, Stewart said the detectives are exploring all the possibilities in their search for Westra.

"We would not do our job if we did not always keep that on the table," Stewart said.

The authorities found no clue to Westra's whereabouts during Tuesday and Wednesday searches of the wooded area within 1.5 miles of her house, which eliminated her. with great probability "that she was near the house located on Lufkin Road that she shared with her husband. , daughter and son-in-law, said MacDonald.

Meanwhile, Jay Westra spoke at length for the first time of Wednesday's test. In his garden, Westra presented NBC News with a detailed description of the family's activities on Sunday and early Monday.

After visiting the health care provider on Sunday, Kristin planned to undergo blood tests on Monday. She also planned to resume her usual yoga and running activities – activities interrupted since the beginning of school and a renovation project underway at home – and to slightly modify her diet and sleep regime. .

"She told me that she felt better. We had a plan, "said Jay Westra. "Kristin is a person who, when she has a plan, sticks to the plan and she follows it and she does things well, every time."

After lying on Sunday, Jay Westra noticed that he had noticed that Kristin was restless and that she was not in their bed when he woke up. at 3:30 in the morning. He thought that she had gone to sleep in another room or downstairs to avoid waking him up.

He said he did not realize she was not home before getting up in the morning. He recounted that he had arranged a friend for him to take his 10-year-old daughter to school while he was looking for Kristin, first on foot then in his car. . He said that a back door was open a few inches and he assumed that she might have left the house that way. The door has a faulty latch making it difficult to close, he said.

Asked on Sunday about Kristin 's "state of mind", Jay Westra described his wife' s resistance.

"Kristin is a rock. She sees a problem and she is not afraid of problems. She knows how to solve problems, "he said.

He also acknowledged that in these situations, the missing person's spouse is often considered a suspect, which he said was "logical". or saying.

"My feelings are secondary. The most important is Kristin's return to me and his family, "he said. "Everything else is secondary. I do not care what people think. I do not care what people are saying. It is a non-subject, a non-thought for me. "

He also rejected the idea that she could have been taken by force.

"She is a strong and powerful person, and I would have heard something," said Jay Westra. "I can not imagine a scenario where a person could get her out of the house without noise and fighting."

When contacted by the Portland Press Herald Thursday at home, Jay Westra said he would not make any other comments to the media.

Kristin Westra's brother, Eric Rohrbach, described his sister as a person who gets up early and who is active and fit, and that leaving home without talking to anyone or having a way to communicate is deeply out of character .

Rohrbach, of New Gloucester, said his sister was also under unusual stress.

The Chebeague Island school where Westra teaches is being renovated, making it difficult for her to be as efficient in her job, said Rohrbach. And she faced similar stress at home, he said, where the family's home was also undergoing major renovations on the first floor.

Jay Westra said that Kristin was not taking any medicine and that he would have supported it if she had told him that she needed time.

And if she listened, her husband had a message for her:

"Kristin, whatever happens, comes home. We have always taken care of everything, we have solved all the problems, we are a team. We will be a team, "he said, adding that" everyone "wants to get it back. "There is nothing, there is no problem, no embarrassment, no obstacle that can not be overcome on your return."

A prayer vigil for Kristin Westra will take place at 5 pm Saturday at the Congregational Church on Main Street in Cumberland.

Game goaltender Jeremy Judd is looking for Kristin Westra from North Yarmouth on Thursday. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald)

Playmaker Jeremy Judd on Thursday prepares to head out into the woods with a K-9 officer looking for Kristin Westra of North Yarmouth, missing since Sunday. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald)