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Police name husband as person of interest in teacher’s disappearance

Posted at 4:31 PM, Jun 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-08 05:15:58-04

PORTAGE, Mich. -- Police investigating the disappearance of teacher Theresa Lockhart named her husband, Christopher Lockhart, a person of interest in the case Friday afternoon.

Theresa Lockhart is a Schoolcraft teacher who's been missing for two weeks.  She was last seen the night of May 18th. Police say she worked out at a local fitness center around 5:00pm and then returned home. Her car was later discovered at a Park & Ride in Portage, a few miles from her home.  A vigil was held for her on Thursday evening in Kentwood, with friends praying for her safe return.

Theresa Lockhart (Photo provided by the Portage Department of Public Safety)

Deputy Chief John Blue of the Portage Police Department told FOX 17 Friday afternoon, "right now we have the husband as the person of interest that we are looking at. The basis for this is the fact of the lack of cooperation from the initial report. The initial report was given to us by the school district. Follow-up contacts were not successful as far as getting additional information from him."

Old booking photo of Christopher Lockhart

A background check on Christopher Lockhart shows several charges out of Michigan and South Carolina.  In late 2016, he was arrested for operating while intoxicated in Portage. Before that, in 2001, he was arrested on a felony assault charge in Kalamazoo Township.

Court records show that in 1989 and again in 1990, Lockhart was arrested in South Carolina on "peeping tom" charges. He apparently served three months in jail for the latter incident.  He also had a string of arrests between 1990 and 1991 for "unlawful use of a telephone".  These charges are often associated with someone making harassing phone calls.