A South Carolina mother mysteriously disappeared for several days during a church conference trip over Valentine’s Day weekend, only to be discovered at a hospital in Georgia with none of her belongings.

Leigh McAlister, 37, left her Lexington, SC, home Friday evening to travel to Atlanta for the conference, her family said on Facebook.

McAlister, who shares a 4-year-old son with her husband, Rob, last talked to her family the night she left, telling them she would be returning home the next day but could stay in the Peach State an extra day.

Leigh McAlister was reported missing by her family on Feb. 16, 2026.
Leigh McAlister was reported missing by her family on Feb. 16, 2026.
She was last seen on security video at a Publix supermarket around 3 p.m. Saturday before going radio silent, not responding to any messages or calls from worried relatives, her sister, Kathleen Hall-Hayes, wrote.

“It’s not like her,” Rob McAlister said about his wife being without her phone, according to 11 Alive.

The concerned husband began to worry about McAlister because she had never disappeared before and their young son began to worry where his mother was, the outlet reported.

Family members reported McAlister missing to the Cobb County Police Department on Monday and a “Be On the Lookout” alert was made.

On Monday afternoon, McAlister’s SUV as found abandoned at the Battery, a mixed-use development surrounding Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, 10 miles northwest of the Publix where she was last seen.

McAlister shares a 4-year-old son with her husband, Rob.
McAlister shares a 4-year-old son with her husband, Rob.

The concerned husband began to worry about McAlister because she had never disappeared before and their young son began to worry where his mother was, the outlet reported.
The concerned husband began to worry about McAlister because she had never disappeared before and their young son began to worry where his mother was.

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"It’s not like her," Rob McAlister said about his wife being without her phone.
“It’s not like her,” Rob McAlister said about his wife being without her phone.

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Inside the car, officials found McAlister’s phone and wallet among other personal items.

The missing mother was discovered hours later at a local hospital.

“FOUND. THANK YOU!! Your prayers, shares and tips worked! Authorities located Leigh alive in Atlanta overnight. We have no further details at this time. Continued prayers for her and our family are appreciated,” Hall-Hayes said in an update.

Police and family did not reveal why McAlister was at a hospital or why her car was abandoned outside the city where she was staying.

The Cobb County Police Major Crimes unit had opened an investigation into McAlister’s disappearance, according to 11 Alive.