A Florida woman who had been missing for days was found alive in a shipping container in Cocoa, Florida, on Thursday.

The woman, 52-year-old Marlene Lopez, was last seen on Monday at her home. A coworker reported her missing Wednesday after she did not pick up her son, the Cocoa Police Department said on Facebook.

Ms. Lopez was found after she was heard banging on the door of the shipping container, and was taken to the hospital for evaluation and possible dehydration, police said.

“She was slightly not in a, like, in a good state of mind to where we could talk to her and get good information. … She would likely not have survived had it not been for the cooler temperatures we’re having now,” Cocoa Police Department Public Information Officer Yvonne Martinez told WESH-TV.

The owner of the container, which is full of lawnmowers, contends he is not at fault.

“We found the lady in a container of ours. Heard her knocking, and then she (came) out” business owner Tyler Sonneberg told WESH-TV.

Tyler Sonneberg told WKMG-TV that he saw Ms. Lopez walking around the area near the container on Monday, but that he locked the unit on Tuesday and did not hear any noise from inside on Wednesday.

Mr. Sonneberg also claimed to have found a lighter and a pipe inside the container after Ms. Lopez was freed Thursday. 

Police said the circumstances of how Ms. Lopez entered and got locked inside the shipping container remain under investigation.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.