Missing Children's Garden director found without explanation

The mystery surrounding the disappearance Sunday of a prominent leader of the Camden Children's Garden ended Tuesday night with a brief statement from the Camden County Police Department: "Valerie Frick has been located and is no longer missing."

Frick, 61, had been reported missing by her husband, Mike Devlin, a former city councilman who founded the Children's Garden along with his wife. His notification Sunday night from the 2900 block of Tuckahoe Road, where the two live, sparked a police missing-person report and efforts by friends of the family to trace Frick.

Police said they were concerned because Frick had not gone missing before.

On Tuesday morning, a part-time worker at the garden spotted Frick driving in Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, Devlin said. The worker was on foot and tried to talk to her but could not catch up to the car.

An e-mail distributed Tuesday morning by a police contact group called the District Council Collaborative Board said Frick was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses.

Family members handed out missing-person fliers around the city Tuesday.

"We very much hope and pray she returns soon and feels better about things," Devlin said Tuesday.

He said in an interview Monday that he last saw his wife around noon Sunday at the home of her ailing mother, Valentina, who lives eight houses away from their home in the Fairview section. The Devlins have been preparing since January to move Valentina and an elderly cousin into a house in Woodbury. Devlin said that the move has been stressful and that his wife got up abruptly and left her mother's home.

When Devlin returned to his Fairview house five minutes later, he said, his wife's vehicle was gone and the house was locked, although she had not set the alarm.

Devlin said other factors had contributed to his wife's stress. The state had threatened to raze much of the Children's Garden, where Frick is director of education, for new waterfront development. The garden, considered a fixture in the area, has featured kids' amusements such as a butterfly garden, and generated jobs for Camden residents.

Gunshots and burglaries near Frick and Devlin's home have also been an issue, Devlin said. In January, someone broke into their greenhouse and stole five turtles.

"All these things break your heart a little at a time," Devlin said.