There has been a reported sighting of the missing 23-year-old teacher in Manhattan, but as quickly as she was spotted, she has vanished once again.

We have been following the case of missing Harlem school teacher Hannah Upp closely, and it looks as though there may be a break in the puzzling case. It’s hard to imagine any scenario that would take this vibrant, well educated, and caring young woman away from her family and friends who clearly adore her, or from the young students she was set to teach last week. Your mind only wants to go to the best case scenario, which is that she simply may have walked off, checked out, and might be taking time to herself while working something out, but so often we have to report a far worse turn out. I’m hoping that we will get to soon report that she is safe and sound and back with her loved ones.

Late last night, we got a news alert from the New York Police Department that there had been what they call a “confirmed sighting” of the missing teacher. Here is a portion of the release:

AS A RESULT OF AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION, HANNAH EMILY UPP WAS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED IN THE VICINITY OF 59 STREET AND 5 AVENUE AT APPROXIMATELY 9:15 THIS MORNING. THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT IS STILL SEEKING THE PUBLIC’S ASSITANCE IN LOCATING MS. UPP, ANYONE WITH ANY INFORMATION ARE ASKED TO CALL CRIME STOPPERS AT 1-800-577-TIPS. THE PUBLIC CAN ALSO TEXT THEIR TIPS TO 274637 (CRIMES) THEN ENTER TIP577. ALL INFORMATION SHALL BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

If you are familiar with New York, you know that location is the Apple store.

We had also heard that she was spotted inside this underground computer store checking her email – which is easy to do, because the store has free internet access at several tables inside where you can walk up and just start using their computers.

I went to the store early this morning to see if anyone there remembered seeing her… they hadn’t, but had heard she was spotted there Friday. This is a VERY busy location in New York, and would be an easy place for someone to dip in and dip out unnoticed.

In the meantime, the search continues for Hannah Upp, and the mystery deepens. We have heard that a friend of hers from school that spotted her, and told her that people were looking for her, and then she took off. Just because she was spotted, doesn’t mean that she is o.k., or that a crime hasn’t happened. Her friends and family need people to remain on the lookout, and call police if she is seen again. Hopefully, this ends well, and soon for everyone involved.