Iona Costello had no idea that an extended New York City vacation would trigger a state-wide search for her disappearance.
Costello, 51, and her daughter Emily, 14, left their Long Island home on March 30 to see a Broadway show in Manhattan. Family members expected them to return April 7. When the pair hadn't returned by April 15, family members filed a missing person report.
Calls to Costello were unanswered, and Emily didn't return to her East Hampton, New York private school following the spring break.
It wasn't until a front desk manager at a hotel recognized Costello that the New York Police Department was able to find the mother and daughter. Both were found unharmed and in good condition.
"It appears that they traveled to NYC and stayed there and certainly have the right to do so, Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley told ABC News on Monday. "Their family and friends, I'm sure, are relieved, but still concerned - but they are no longer considered missing by our department."
The only evidence police had prior the hotel manager's tip was parking garage surveillance footage near Times Square. Diana Malcolmson, Costello's mother, said her daughter's car was found undamaged in the garage last Wednesday.
Malcolmson said Costello was under a significant amount of stress and just wanted to get away. "She hadn't listened to the news. She didn't know she was causing all this trouble," Malcolmson said.
The disappearance comes as Costello fighter her late husband's adult children over rights to his will. George Costello Sr. left his share of a company to Iona and Emily. George Sr.'s five children, however, dispute the will's validity.
No charges are expected to result from the disappearance. "We are no longer searching for them but are attempting to fill in the circumstances surrounding this case," Flatley said.
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