Tenant Disappeared - Legal Responsibilities

[Daniel Winsor]

I own a duplex and rent out the 3/2 opposite me. I really didn't want to do separate rooms, and the lease isn't written as such, but the tenants treat it that way. Lease ends November and tenants are moving out. One of the tenants, the one who had red flags when moving in, has apparently disappeared. She told me she was leaving early (today) and to just "keep the deposit for the last month of rent". I was irritated by this, but I insisted on a larger deposit, so it should be a minimal loss if at all. There are no individual leases, it's all one lease. The "main tenant" that is kinda in charge of the house told me yesterday that the other girl has just disappeared. I was told the tenant lately has been drinking and partying a lot (not at the house), is a slob, and might even have tried to break into the other tenant's rooms. She is a bit of a hoarder and has a lot of stuff in her room, including some medical supplies she needs to live. I asked if she just abandoned the stuff and I was told that her dog is gone and she hasn't been seen in days. The primary tenant is insisting that I clean out her crap (have it thrown away). This is the first experience at all I've had like this. Some quick looking shows that I need to have a court order and then the police will remove her belongings. This doesn't include abandonment, which apparently gets more complicated. The current standing of the situation is; she hasn't paid rent for this month. She isn't responding to my texts and I have no forwarding address for her. Lease ends at the end of the month, but she told me in person that she was going to be out of the room by today, and ready for a walkthrough. Do I start the eviction process? Do I need to talk to a lawyer? I could have the other tenants clean her stuff out and offer them a credit for the work, as it's not me doing it, its her roommates?