Missing New Orleans student Ruth Carter found alive in Miss. hotel room

(CBS/WWL) NEW ORLEANS - A week after her disappearance, Loyola University student Ruth Carter has been found safe along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, officials said Monday.

A private investigator hired by the family discovered the 21-year-old in a hotel room in Ocean Springs, Miss., reports CBS affiliate WWL.

The young woman disappeared on May 28 after returning to her dorm room following a crawfish boil.

In a statement released late Monday, Loyola University officials said: "We are pleased to announce that University officials were contacted this morning by Ruth Carter's mother with the good news that Ruth has been located and is safe. This is great news and we look forward to Ruth's safe return home."

Loyola University spokeswoman Meredith Hartley told WWL that no reason was given for Carter's actions and that it appears to be a family matter.

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