u/AlfredTheJones

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for your votes and comments under my last post about Layla Santanello- I hope that she will be found soon.

Today I'd like to highlight a different case centering around a troubled young woman.

A lot of the info in this post was taken from a podcast-interview with Kristi Boyd, Rio's mother, and it's possible that it might be biased in some way. Please keep this possible bias in mind when reading. I am not involved in the case in any way and don't know Rio or anyone in her family, so I can only share the info I gathered up from different sources.

BACKGROUND

Rio Boyd was 21 when she went missing from Spanaway, Washington, USA.

She was named after the hit song "Rio" by Duran Duran.

At the time of her disappearance, Rio lived with her father, Brian Boyd, and his new family. Her mother, Kristi Boyd, lived in Oregon at the time.

Brian and Kristi separated when Rio was 2 years old. The couple went back together at some point, but it didn't work out in the end and they split once more. They had an informal custody arrangement, but the kids (Rio and her brother) spent most of the time with Kristi. Being a single mother was "tough" for Kristi.

Rio was a "happy, artistic, creative" child growing up. She also loved the outdoors- she'd run around the local forest and went fishing with her cousins.

Rio struggled at school due to having ADHD. Kristi got her diagnosed and got her medication, but some members of the family (including Brian) claimed that Rio didn't need to take them- due to their influence, Rio stopped taking her medications regularily around three times in her life. Rio ultimately went to an alternative school close to Kristi's home, but she was "teased" due to being the "new girl", which discouraged her a lot. She ended up dropping out in the end.

After she quit school, Rio spent a lot of time babysitting her younger cousins. However, she quickly ended up falling into a bad crowd- Rio started to drink alcohol, take "pills" (over-the-counter cough medication known as 3C) and party. There was an incident in which Rio and a friend took 3C together at Rio's house- the friend ended up hallucinating and Kristi had to take her to a hospital; Rio didn't suffer any adverse effects, however.

Kristi decided that she can't let her daughter end up like her friend. She moved Rio to her father's home to get her as far away as possible from local bad influences. Unfortunately, Rio's stepsister was a "radical", and Rio ended up partying again.

Rio visited Kristi every few months, but she didn't get along with her mother's new partner, who also lived at the house. At one time, Rio started doing drugs right in front of Kristi. During an argument that took place at an unspecified date, Rio threatened her mother's partner with a knife and told him to "never get between her and her mother again"; Rio then stabbed the knife into a table- nobody was hurt during the altercation. Still, that was too much for Kristi- she and her partner got restraining orders against Rio, who ended up moving back to Brian's house. Despite the restraining order, Kristi was always just a phone call away- after some time, she decided that she couldn't bear it if Rio needed her and she couldn't help her due to the restraining order, so it was dropped.

In the end, Rio ended up moving back with her father and his family, most likely to stay closer to her current social circle.

Shortly before her disappearance, Rio started to learn glass blowing, which she had a knack for according to her father, Brian Boyd. He said that his daughter was "a budding artist who had a passion for drawing and was considering a career in the field".

Brian said that he misses his daughter's "unique dry humor" and "how she lit up every room she walked into".

DISAPPEARANCE

Kristi last saw her daughter in person in summer of 2022.

A few days before Rio went missing, she told Kristi that she felt like "she was being spied on" and that she "was gonna get jumped". She also said that when she was coming out of a local 7-eleven recently, a group of men in a truck was staring at her, and it gave her "a really bad feeling". She felt like she was being stalked. Kristi told Brian about it, but he said that Rio was just "imagining things".

17th of October started with an argument between Brian and Rio- she wanted to borrow his phone as she didn't have her own, and he was trying to "get with some girl". The phone arrived via mail, and Kristi was the one who paid for it. Rio's first call was to her mom- she seemed "normal" and she told Kristi that she was going to visit her friends that day. Kristi sent her multiple messages during the day, asking about the phone and chatting- when Rio didn't answer multiple messages she sent her, Kristi got concerned.

Rio was last seen on the 17th of October at her home at the mobile home park on Field Road in Spanaway. She left the house around 6 PM to visit a friend- she took her brand new phone with her, but left behind her keys, identification, and wallet. Rio never arrived at her friend's home.

When Rio didn't come home, Brian called her phone. When the call was picked up after two days of calling, Brian didn't hear his daughter's voice, but that of a male stranger, who, as it was later found out, was a neighbour who was walking his dog. After being asked to identify himself, the man said that he found Rio's phone on the ground, ran to it and picked up the call. Brian hurried to the spot where Rio's phone was found to pick it up- that place was around the 400 block of Field Road, 400 feet (~122 m) away from Rio's house.

Kristi tried to convince Brian to report Rio as missing, but Brian wasn't too worried about his daughter's disappearance at first- he was convinced that she was going to come home at some point. When she didn't, however, Brian reported Rio missing.

Rio's uncle, Chad Boyd, said that it's unlike his niece to leave somewhere without letting her parents know. She also left her pitbull, Roscoe, at home, and she would allegedly never abandon her pet like that.

Rio's phone has been given to the investigators for forensic examination, but it's not stated if anything was found.

Police asked the people living or working near 198th Ave Ct E and Field Road in Spanaway to share any surveillance foootage they might have and might've recorded Rio from from 4 PM on the 17th of October to 4 PM on the 19th of October. The CCTV from a building opposite to where Rio's phone was found was analyzed, but no clues were found.

At first, Rio was considered a runaway, but she is now considered an "endangered missing".

CONCLUSION

Kristi suspects that Brian's boss might be involved in Rio's disappearance. According to her, Rio told her that the man gave her cocaine and got her addicted to it. He also asked her for sexual favors, including a threesome with his wife.

Kristi and Brian worked together to find Rio at first, but at some point Brian almost got into an altercation with Kristi's partner, which caused a rift.

The investigators don't believe that the man who found Rio's phone has any connection to her disappearance.

Rio Jina Boyd was 21 when she went missing and would be about 25 now. She is a white woman, 5'6 (168 cm), 180 - 215 lbs (82 - 98 kg). She has brown hair and brown eyes. She has a scar on her left forearm and a small mole on her upper lip. Her ears are pierced. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and possibly a black Seattle Sawhawks jacket.

If you have any info about Rio's whereabouts, contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Office at 253-798-7530

SOURCES:

1. fox13seattle.com
2. fox13seattle.com
3. komonews.com
4. thenewstribune.com
5. The Missing podcast
6. charleyproject.org

Rio's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for your votes and comments under my post about Robert Alexander "Alex" Easterling- I hope that he will be found soon.

Today I'd like to cover a different disappearance.

BACKGROUND

Layla Santanello was 20 when she went missing from Kingsport, Tennessee, USA.

She had a 2 year old daughter. According to her mother, Jennifer Santanello, Layla really wanted to be a mother, she was excited when she got pregnant and that she really loved her daughter. Despite that, Layla didn't have full custody of her daughter- she lost temporary custody over her daughter to Jennifer only a few weeks before she disappeared. The next court appearance was set for the 28th of June- just two days after Layla has been reported missing.

As a child, Layla was "a spunky kid, full of sass, attitude and energy". She was also very creative, and could paint, dance and sing. She was a member of the travel swim team and the choir, and went to a lot of summer camps, including a science and a theatre school; She also used to go to art school. Layla was a "rebellious" teen who wanted to be an adult. She allegedly had "no filter" and "would just say it like it was"; Despite her "flaws", she was also described as "larger than life” and "full of life".

Layla struggled with fentanyl and heroin addiction for a few years, and her stepmother, Brittany Zeitler, said that Layla's been "spiraling down" for weeks before she disappeared. Layla had allegedly been refusing treatment- she believed that she could control her addiction by herself.

Layla was in the process of breaking up with her current boyfriend. In the meantime, she had grown close to another man, who even let her stay with him for a few nights before she vanished.

Jennifer said that her daughter was "very independent", "beautiful, bright light in the world”

Brittany said that her step-daughter was "very dependable on her family".

DISAPPEARANCE

On the 24th of June, Layla's boyfriend (not specified if it was the old or the new boyfriend) contacted Jennifer through Layla's social media account and told her that Layla left his home and that he didn't know where she went. He asked if she knew if Layla was in jail or the hospital, and that he hasn't been in contact with her for 24 hours. Later that night, someone claiming to be Layla sent a message from the same account as before, telling Jennifer that she (Layla) was "fine" and that she was staying with a friend and that she was using someone else's phone.

According to witnesses, Layla spent the night of the 25th sleeping at the Americourt hotel (1900 American Way) with a friend.

On the 26th, Layla was allegedly "raising a ruckus" in the early hours of the morning and knocking on doors, looking for "someone". She was described as acting "erratic and paranoid". She then ran into a nearby treeline. There was a homeless encampment behind the hotel, and it's believed that Layla was there at some point.

On the 27th, Layla was seen at 6:15 AM in a field next to Americourt which also had a warehouse on the property. According to witnesses Layla appeared to have spent the night in the field, asked a warehouse employee for a cigarette, and walked on to the the Greenbelt (a local running/walking/biking/path) heading in an unknown direction.

Layla had allegedly met some people after she left the Americourt and spent the following evening with them. She has never been seen again.

Layla was reported missing by her father, George Emmett, on the 27th. He was worried about her welfare and unsure of her whereabouts.

It wasn't unusual for Layla to vanish for a few days to "go hide for a few days and take some space and time for herself", so the family wasn't too concerned at first. However, Layla never went missing for as long as she did, and that's why family started to worry about her.

An Endangered Young Adult Alert was issued for Layla in accordance with the Holly Bobo Act.

Shortly after Layla went missing, her family started getting cashapp requests from someone claiming to be holding her hostage. The requests were coming from Layla's boyfriend's device and IP, but once his home was processed by the investigators, no evidence that anything happened to Layla there was found. The man's name was Michael Thompson, but I'm not sure if he was the man Layla was splitting up with or her new partner.

CONCLUSION

A lot of the info for this case are all over the place in sources- what happened on specific days on and around Layla's disappearance, where she was last seen, the timeline of what she was last seen doing and where... I did my best to write this post using the most recent info, but it's possible I got some details wrong- if any discrepancy will be noticed, I'll do my best to fix it as soon as I can.

George and Brittany are at odds with Jennifer, who believes that Layla might've been trafficked or fallen victim to a serial killer, while they believe that Layla's dissapearance is heavily tied to her drug addiction.

The police believe that Layla is deceased, and that she died after meeting up with the group of people she met after she left the American Way hotel. They believe that a small group of people knows where Layla's body is. The investigators have obtained and served over 30 search warrants, issued over 25 subopenas, conducted a search of residence of Layla Santanello and Michael Thompson, conducted 6 searches and numerous interviews.

Michael Thompson had been sentenced in 2024 on charges of or identity theft, theft under $1,000, illegal possession or fraudulent use of credit or debit card, and extortion based on evidence collected as part of the Santanello missing person’s case.

Early in the case, there were reports of Layla being seen on the 27th of June in the vicinity of East Stone Commons shopping center in Kingsport around 12 PM. The reports said that Layla was "barefoot and looking disoriented", but it has since been confirmed by the investigators that it wasn't Layla, but a different woman, who has been contacted and talked to.

There is a $2,000 reward for "information leading to (Layla)".

Layla Marie Santello was 20 when she went missing and would be 23 now. She is a white woman, 4'10" (58 inch / 147 cm) and 135 lbs (61 kg). She has strawberry blond, shoulder length hair and brown eyes. She had two tattoos: "IV XX" on her left collar bone and "Nova Grace" on the right collar bone. She was last seen wearing a white tank top, black leggings, and no shoes.

If you have any info about Layla's whereabouts, contact the Kingsport Police Department at (423) 229-9300 (case number 23-012961)

SOURCES:

1. wjhl.com
2. wjhl.com
3. wycb.com
4. newschannel9.com
5. wjhl.com
6. wjhl.com
7. wycb.com
8. nypost.com
9. newsnationnow.com
10. wjhl.com
11. crimeonline.com
12. wycb.com
13. kingsporttn.gov
14. timesnews.com
15. NamUS.gov

Layla's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for all your comments and votes under my last post about the Middlesex County John Doe- I hope that he will be identified soon.

Today I'd like to highlight a disappearance case.

BACKGROUND

Robert Alexander "Alex" Easterling was 30 when he went missing from Pickens, Mississippi, USA.

One article noted that he was a "young father", but no details were given about this part of his life.

DISAPPEARANCE

Alex was last seen on the 20th of April at 8:15 PM on Stockyard Road in Pickens. His mother, Ashley E Martin, had picked Alex from jail and then dropped him off at his acquaintance’s house at Alex's request. Alex's mother had a bad feeling about the place one they arrived, and later described it as a "chop shop".

Before he left, Alex asked his mother to text him when she comes home, so that he'd know that she returned safely. Ashley kept her promise and both called and texted Alex, but recieved no reply. When there was still no word back from Alex by the next morning, Ashley knew that something was wrong.

After Alex was reported missing, Ashley learned how to analyze phone data from a friend who was involved in law enforcement. According to that data, Alex was on his friend's porch, and then, minutes later, the phone appeared to stay in one spot. According to the interpretation of data from Alex's phone, he then ran off the back porch and "fell flat"- the next phone ping was sent at 12:23 AM, and it came from across the street from the friend's residence.

A search party with dogs was meant to search the friend's property, but the friend revoked his permission after he initially granted it. It doesn't seem like any physical clues were found during the search.

CONCLUSION

The info I'll give below comes from Alex's websleuths.com thread from a user claiming to be Ashley. This user has not been verified, so we can't be 100% sure that it is indeed Ashley, but I still found the details provided notable enough to include. Approach these with a grain of salt.

• Alex was in jail due to an outstanding warrant in Hinds County from 2020 for Grand Larceny. He was arrested on the 16th of February. His charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and Alex was released on Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI).
• Alex has struggled with substance abuse issues for a few years before he went missing. His larceny charge was a result of that.
• Ashley didn't know it at the time, but the house she dropped Alex at belonged to a known drug dealer. She said that the place looked "shady" and like "a junk yard with old cars everywhere, high wooden fencing, flood lights, etc".
• An officer went to the friend's house on the 22nd to talk to him about Alex's disappearance. The friend claimed that Alex did come by that evening and that the two talked on the porch. Alex allegedly asked the friend to give him some phone numbers, as he had a brand new phone with no new contacts. The friend allegedly went inside to grab his phone, and when he returned, Alex was gone. When Ashley's father went to talk with the friend a bit later on the 22nd, he said that he went inside to put on a t-shirt, and when he came back, Alex was gone. Even later on the 22nd, a deputy came by to the friend to talk about Alex- the friend claimed that he went in to grab a cigarette, and when he came back, Alex was gone. The friend gave three slightly different versions of the story overall. He hasn't been questioned by the police in an official capacity (at least by the 12th of July 2022, no idea if that has changed since).
• The area where Alex went missing at was looked through using drones and sniffer dogs at the 27th and 28th of April 2022. The friend had denied them access to the property at first, but then changed his mind. The dogs immediately hit Alex's scent and lead the handlers from the front gate straight to the front porch. The dogs then tried to lead the handlers to the back of the house, but the friend said that Alex "didn't go back there" and didn't want to let them through. A deputy was called during the search, but once he arrived at the property, he didn't even exit his car and didn't acknowledge Ashley, her husband, or her father, who were also at the scene.

The friend who owned the house that Alex was last seen at is considered a person of interest.

There is a $10,000 reward for any info in Alex's case.

Robert Alexander "Alex" Easterling was 30 when he went missing and would be 34 now. He is a white man, 5' 9" (69 Inch / 175 cm) and 160 lbs (73 kg). He has brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a large cross tattoo on his back. He wast last seen wearing a black t- shirt with a white Egyptian design on the front, blue jeans, and military style boots.

If you have any info about Alex's whereabouts, contact the Holmes County Sheriff's Department at (662) 834-1511 (case number 289622-HSO).

SOURCES:

1. wlbt.com
2. breezynews.com
3. wlbt.com
4. wjtv.com
5. NamUS.gov

Alex's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, I'd like to thank you for your comments and votes on my last post about Lucien Vink- I hope that he will be found soon.

Today I'd like to highlight another disappearance case with not a lot of info on it.

BACKGROUND

Eric Campbell was 47 when he went missing from Gasquet, California, USA.

He was originally from Eureka in California.

Eric had two dogs and a cat.

He suffered from a seizure disorder, and his episodes could make him disoriented.

DISAPPEARANCE

On a date that hasn't been specified publically, Eric had set up camp about a mile up the road from U.S. 199 near where Patrick Creek meets Shelly Creek- it was noted that Eric was very familiar with the local area. He took all three of his pets with him. He was in daily contact with his family and friends. That contact stopped abruptly on the evening of the 16th of September, just before 8 PM- he last contacted someone at 7:57 PM.

When his family decided to search the campsite he's been staying at on the 18th of September, they found his camp undisturbed, with no signs of struggle or blood anywhere nearby. All of his pets were still there, as was his camping gear, cellular phone, driver's license, keys, money and cigarettes. Eric's car, a Toyota pickup truck with Montana plates, was found with the hood up. A few boot prints were found in a creek bed nearby, but it hasn't been confirmed that they belonged to Eric. Eric owned an Italian-made Pietta black powder revolver, which is still unaccounted for today.

It's unclear if Eric had his seizure medications with him at the time.

Eric was reported missing by his family on the evening of the 18th of September.

The search for Eric begun on the 19th.

The investigators said that if Eric got a ride from someone, it was unlikely that he'd leave his pets behind.

It was noted that there was a sign that warned about bear presence nerby the camping site- before he went missing, Eric had allegedly called his family and told them that he saw a bear with cubs nearby his camp, but he managed to scare the animals off using rocks.

According to Eric's phone records, he might've travelled to Hiouchi to go to the store, to O'Brien Market (EDIT: Most likely meaning a town in Oregon) or into Crescent City.

CONCLUSION

There were reported sightings of Eric in Crescent City in California in and Grants Pass in Oregon, but they haven't been confirmed as legitimate.

Eric's family member took his pets with them to look after them.

Thomas Eric Campbell was 47 when he went missing and would be 49 now. He is a white man, 5'7" (67 Inch / 170 cm) and 150 lbs (68 kg). He had brown, short or shaved, hair and a sparse. scruffy reddish brown beard. His eyes are blue. He was last wearing dark green mesh water/walking shoes.

If you have any info about Eric's whereabouts, contact the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office at (707) 464-4191 (case number 20240730).

SOURCES:

1. lostcoastoutpost.com
2. kymkemp.com
3. krctv.com
4. lostcoastoutpost.com
5. people.com
6. charleyproject.org
7. NamUS.gov

Eric's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for all your votes and comments under my last post about David Souza- I hope that he will be found soon.

Today I wanted to cover another disappearance case, one that also doesn't have many sources to draw from.

BACKGROUND

Lucien Vink was 51 when he disappeared from San Clemente, California, USA.

He was married to a woman named Carly Vink. The couple had two young children.

Lucien was a citizen of The Neatherlands and had a US green card.

Lucien had type I diabetes and used a glucose monitor.

Carly said that her husband was "(...) the most loving, wonderful man on the planet".

DISAPPEARANCE

On the 4th of July, the Vink family was celebrating Independence Day with a visit to a local community pool and a pizza party. Lucien was allegedly acting "normal".

Carly last physically saw her husband on the 6th, when thy were at the family home.

On the 7th of July, Carly woke up at 6:30 AM to go to a gym class, as she usually did. Lucien wasn't in the bed, but Carly wasn't suprised- Lucien's glucose monitor would beep loudly if his blood sugar got high, and he frequently slept on the couch because of it.

When Carly went downstairs, she noticed that her husband wasn't there, sleeping on the couch, after all; She then assumed that one of their kids must've woken up at night when Lucien was still awake, and then he fell asleep in one of their rooms.

Carly said that Lucien's wallet and phone were on the counter when she left for the gym.

When she returned home at about 7:30 AM, Lucien still wasn't up, which was odd- according to Carly, Lucien would always be making coffee or doing something downstairs by that time.

Carly then looked closely at Lucien's wallet and phone, and found something she didn't notice before- a note. The full contents weren't released to the public, but Carly said that the note indicated that Lucien was "Sorry" and that he "Loved (his family)".

While the contents of the note suprised Carly, she was still assuming that Lucien was at the house, just asleep. She didn't know what the note was talking about, didn't know what Lucien would be sorry for, and thought that they will have to have a "serious discussion" once he wakes up. Carly then went to take a shower.

As she was showering, Carly thought that it was possible that Lucien wasn't home at all, and "her stomach dropped". She got dressed and checked their kids' rooms- they were asleep, but Lucien wasn't in either room.

Carly went back to the counter where she found Lucien's things before, and she noticed that his glucose monitor and the insulin administration device, which he was supposed to wear all the time, were left behind. Lucien's credit cards were also on the counter.

Carly called all of the local hospitals, but none of them had a patient named Lucien Vink or a John Doe. Carly was panicking and asked the staff at one of the hospitals she called about what she should do; The staffer told her to report Lucien's disappearance to the police.

She reported Lucien missing immediately, and told the police that Lucien was a critical missing, given his diabetes and the fact that he didn't have his monitoring devices on him. Carly left her children at a friend's house and went back home. The deputies searched the Vink household, took Carly's statement and filed a critical missing person report.

The investigators were able to obtain two videos from security cameras that belonged to the Vink's neighbours. On the first one, Lucien is seen walking down the street on the 7th at 1:58 AM- he was wearing regular clothes and had a backpack with him. On another video,Lucien is seen exiting the cul-de-sac where the family lived and walking onto another street.

Carly left fliers at food banks and looked for him in homeless encampments, but she hasn't found any leads.

Carly said that she hasn't noticed Lucien acting in an "unusual" way in the days leading to his disappearance. She said that their relationship was harmonious- they last fought a month or two before Lucien went missing, but it wasn't a serious fight and they moved on quickly.

CONCLUSION

There hasn't been a lot of info about Lucien's disappearacne released. Lucien's family seems to believe that he might've been a victim of glucose psychosis- a state of either low or very high blood sugar that can cause psychosis-like symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions, and confusion, in some diabetics. It's unclear if Lucien had any mental health problems or episodes of glucose psychosis before his disappearance. The family used to have a gofundme, but they closed it around the 6th of September 2025 saying that "this chapter is coming to an end", but Lucien is still listed in different government missing people databases and seemingly still hasn't been located.

Lucien Henricus Jacobus Vink was 51 when he went missing and he would be 52 now. He is a white (specifically Dutch) man, 5'8" - 6'0" (68 - 72 Inch / 173 - 183 cm) and 150 - 170 lbs (68 - 77 kg). He was bald and has blue eyes. He has a tattoo of a mountain with wave on his right ankle. He was last seen wearing a dark colored shirt and dark gray sweatpants- he was also carrying a black backpack.

If you have any info about Lucien's whereabouts, contact the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 647-7000 (case number 25-023518).

SOURCES:

1. nbcnews.com
2. NamUS.gov

Lucien's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for all your votes and comments under my last post about the New York Jane Doe- I hope that she will be identified soon.

Today I'd like to highlight a recent disappearance case. There isn't that much info on it online, but what we do have is quite alarming- I wanted to bring more awareness to it, and I hope that maybe this post will reach someone who will know something that could help with solving it.

BACKGROUND

David Souza was 60 when he went missing from San Juan Bautista, California, USA.

He lived on a property at the 2000 block of San Juan Highway, and operated a self-storage yard and a mechanic shop from there.

DISAPPEARANCE

David was last seen on the 25th of July by the clients of his buisnesses. He was also seen doing yard work at his property during the day.

A missing person's report for David was filed on the 29th by his friend, after he couldn't contact him.

When the investigators arrived at David's property, they discovered that his dogs were left alone. His vehicles were parked at the property, and David didn't reach out to anyone to ask for looking after his buisness when he was gone- it all looked like he essentially left all of his life behind.

Blood was found on the property, outside of the home and on a wheelbarrow found at the property. Said blood was taken for testing- for now it's not clear if it belongs to David, or even if it's human or animal blood.

David's phone is considered to be turned off.

In August, police have said that David's disappearance is considered suspicious, and that foul play might've been involved.

CONCLUSION

Multiple search warrants have been drafted and executed in relation to the case, and the investigators are awaiting the results from different forensic companies. The police have said that they've been looking through phone records, bank records, and surveillance video in search of potential clues that would tell them about what happened to David.

Cadaver dogs and a ground-penetrating radar have been brought onto the property in search of clues, but it's not stated if anything of note was found.

David Machado Souza was 60 when he went missing. He is a white man, 5'8" (173 cm) and 150 lbs (68 kg). He has brown eyes and is bald.

If you have any info about David's whereabouts, contact the San Benito County Sheriff's Office at (831) 636-4080 (case number BG2500776)

SOURCES:

1. benitolink.com
2. goldrushcam.com

David's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for your votes and comments under my last post about Allen and Rachelle Fischer- I hope that they will be found safe and soon.

Today I'd like to cover another disappearance.

BACKGROUND

Zoe Penrod was 39 when she went missing from Myers Flat, California, USA.

Zoe had a fiance named David Boyett- they were planning to get married in May of 2024. The couple shared a child- a five-month old son. Zoe had two other children from previous relationships, but she wasn't their primary caregiver- it seems like they were under cared for by Zoe's family.

The young family of three lived at a property with multiple other roommates. The property seemed to be a collection of RVs and mobile homes which were inhabited by different people (something akin to a trailer park).

Zoe struggled with mental health issues. She had many previous mental health episodes, and she ended up at the Fortuna hospital in early December of 2023 due to one of them.

At the time of her disappearance, Zoe, David, and Zoe's sister Jesse were involved in a lengthy legal dispute with her and Jesse's adopted mother, Karen Penrod, over the inheritance of a property that used to belong to the sisters' grandmother. Zoe had recently recieved a large payout after a lawsuit against her mother was filled. The property in question was a home down Boy Scout Rd. in Myers Flat, where Dave and Zoe previously lived. Zoe's grandmother wanted her to have the house, but Karen was the property's manager- she wasn't happy with the status of repairs that Zoe and David agreed to do, so she evicted them and sold the house. Zoe was allegedly quite worried about a letter Karen sent her shortly before Zoe went missing- Karen said that she was willing to spend all of her money and all of Jesse's money to remove Zoe from the will.

David alleged that Zoe had a "multimillion dollar inheritance which he knew she could access through her phone".

David described his fiance as "the love of (his) life, she (was) a very beautiful spirit, very docile spirit, she (was) a very kind and loving spirit. She love(d) big and she (was) just very kind in general”.

DISAPPEARANCE

According to David, Zoe started "acting strangely" about three weeks before her disappearance- around Christmas, she told him that she heard voices that mimicked her and her friends' voices, and that they were telling her to go outside. She also stopped sleeping and eating, as she believed that her food had been poisoned. David said that the change in Zoe's behavior was very sudden, "like a light switch".

David tried to convince Zoe to seek treatment, but she wasn't willing to do it. He said that he invited their "friends" to help him take care of her, and it seems like at least some of the friends were the other people that lived on the property with them.

On the 20th of December, Zoe was seen by locals walking the wrong direction up the Myers Flat offramp towards the 101 freeway. Witnesses said that they saw David trying to convince her to get into their car, but after Zoe kept refusing, he was forced to call the police as "last resort". The officers were able to coax Zoe into a patrol vehicle before transporting her to SoHum Health in Garberville for evaluation.

David said that he had a 40-minute phone discussion with the doctor who was resposible for treating Zoe. The doctor told him that they were going to keep Zoe at the hospital untill they find a long-term mental health facility that could accomodate her. Two days later, David got a call from a mental health specialist from another county, who told him that they were going to release Zoe because she was seemingly fine. David asked what has changed in those two days when she was hospitalized, and the man told him that "sometimes people just need some rest and some food". The specialist then said that they were either going to release Zoe by herself or that they'll release her to him- so David went to Garberville to pick his fiance up.

Jackie, the couple's roommate and nanny, said that Zoe was allegedly "a handful" when she was at the clinic and that "(the staff) gave her a lot of drugs like Thorazine and Mirtazapine…like nine shots” when Zoe was a patient. Jackie begged the hospital to reconsider Zoe's release, but they said that they can't keep someone involuntarily once the Humboldt County Mental Health releases the hold on someone.

Zoe returned home on the 23rd of December. She wasn't given any drugs to take after she was released- she only had a list of drugs that she was given at the hospital. For about two days, Zoe was acting somewhat normal, but her health quickly deteriorated. Zoe stopped breastfeeding her son after she came back, because she didn't want to risk him consuming any drug residue that she might have in her body. It's a sensitive period for a lot of people- the body goes through hormonal changes shortly after stopping breastfeeding, which can trigger or worsen post-partum psychosis.

David's mother, who was a nurse, was allegedly working on creating a plan to get Zoe more extensive treatment.

Jackie last saw Zoe on 2 AM on the 31st of December.

On 8 AM of the 31st of December, David said that Zoe was awake, pacing and "sprinkling holy water" on him as he was trying to sleep; She was also drawing crosses "all over the house on cabinet doors, on chairs, on the door to the house". All of their roommates were allegedly asleep (there were allegedly five adults plus Zoe and David's son at the house at the time). At 8:30 AM, David noticed that Zoe was sitting outside their RV, which was parked in their yard- she was doing it more and more frequently, beckoned by the voices she heard. David tried to convince her to come back inside, but he heard their son crying inside. Zoe allegedly told him "I love you... Bless you" as he went in to tend to their child. When he returned to the yard, Zoe was gone.

David walked around the neighbourhood looking for her, but he couldn't find Zoe anywhere. He wanted to report her missing immediately, but the police allegedly told him that he had to wait 24 hours before he could report a missing person. Lt. Joshua McCall said that this is not a policy for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department, but a "misunderstanding people sometimes have". 

Jackie woke up at 9 AM and found out that Zoe was gone. She asked David if he reported her missing, but he said he'll do it "later"- Jackie insisted that he should do it "right then". Jackie also claims that she only saw David calling the police on the 1st of January- not earlier, as she told him to. According to her, on that day, David was searching through the trailer looking for some drug that disappeared along with Zoe, but he allegedly found the it on the next day.

She also claims that David wasn't initially involved with the search for Zoe and kept claiming that she would come back on New Year’s Eve night.

David reported Zoe missing on the 1st of January at 8:51 AM.

Zoe left her wallet, cellphone and money at home. She didn't take any supplies that might've helped her camp out in the wilderness either.

Jackie said that the police didn't seem too concerned with Zoe's disappearance. She said that they talked to one of their male roommates for about 10-15 minutes and left. David wasn't even at the property at the time- Jackie wasn't sure if he was ever even properly interviewed beside a short phonecall and a conversation during a search.

According to Jackie, there was allegedly a living room interior and exterior ring camera at Zoe and David's house and another one at the property's gate, which should have shown the direction Zoe walked off in and what happened right before she did, and that the footage was connected to Zoe's cell phone. The journalists who wrote the article with that information weren't able to confirm anything about these alleged cameras or any footage, however.

A community-lead search took place on the 7th of January- Zoe or any clues that might lead to her were not found, but more info was revealed about where she might've gone: Malachi Church, a volunteer firefighter with the Salmon Creek Fire Protection District, was one of the people requested to aid in the search. He said that the searchers were given a surveilance photo of a person in a green bathrobe (though it was also described as a "light-colored housecoat") and green slippers, walking past Drive Thru Tree located at the north intersection where Boy Scout Road meet the Avenue (Highway 254), which was a couple hundred feet away from Zoe's home. The photo was taken just before 8:30 AM on the 31st of December. The volunteers were told that the person in the photo was Zoe, though it's important to note that the image itself was somewhat blurry.

There was a report of someone who looked similar to Zoe in Southern Humboldt, but the sighting couldn't be confirmed. Another sighting of Zoe reportedly took place on January 1 around 8:20 AM., by a local man who wished to remain anonymous. He said he saw Zoe wandering northbound near the guardrail on the 101 freeway, north of the Myers Flat southbound off ramp.

In an interview conducted on the 10th of January, the investigators were asked if the property Zoe lived at was ever properly searched- the investigators said that they "had been there multiple times”, but they wouldn't specify any details about the extent of the search.

CONCLUSION

In a later interview, Jackie said that on the same day that Zoe was released from the hospital, a woman named Jerri Rebekah Cardelli was released from jail to another man who lived at the property. Jerri was charged with reckless driving and released with an ankle monitor. There is no official connection between Jerri and Zoe's disappearance, but Jackie mentioned it in one article, so it seems like she thinks it might be significant...?

Jackie moved out of the property a few weeks after Zoe went missing.

Dave accused Zoe's sister and adopted mother of using Zoe's phone to access her social media and inheritance. He said that Zoe's sister, who's the other recipient of her trust, turned off Zoe's funds. According to Dave, he was set to get a small payout to provide for their son's needs and living expenses- he doesn't know why the funds were turned off. Dave was forced to move out of the property Zoe vanished from because he couldn't pay rent. He moved to Arizona and lives with his family and his son.

I also wanted to highlight the comments under this article. One of the commenters, allegedly Jackie, is throwing some serious accusations towards David. Other commenters, seemingly people who knew Zoe in real life, also join in, and say different things about Jackie, David, Karen, and Jesse. I decided to not include the contents of these comments in the main part of these write-up, as the comments aren't verified as written by the people involved in this case, not to mention that a lot of them are... odd. I think they're interesting if true, but of course, please treat them with a grain of salt, and remember that people have a lot of biases, personal resentments, and are under the influence of strong emotions when involved in difficult cases like this one. I also wanted to ask you to please not get into any arguments with anyone involved with the case and to not bother them on social media.

Zoe E. Penrod was 39 when she went missing and would be 42 now. She is a white woman, 5'5 (165 cm) and 140 pounds (64 kg). She has red hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a beige bathrobe, orange clothes under the robe, and green shoes. She may use the first name Rhonda.

If you have any info on Zoe's whereabouts, contact the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at 707-445-7439

SOURCES:

1. kymkemp.com
2. krctv.com
3. kymkemp.com
4. 'sfgate.com
5. kymkemp.com
6. charleyproject.org
7. newsnationnow.com

Zoe's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, I'd like to thank you for your comments and votes on my last post about Starla Goings- I hope that she will be found soon.

Today I'd like to cover another disturbing disappearance case.

BACKGROUND

Allen Fischer and his sister, Rachelle Fischer, were respectively 13 and 15 when they went missing from Monteview, Idaho, USA.

The two siblings lived with their mother, Elizabeth Roundy, in Monteview.

The three used to belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). In 2014, Elizabeth was separated from her children as a way to make her "repent" for having a miscarriage. She was only allowed to return to them after five years, and when she wanted to get her children back, Elizabeth has been instantly branded as an apostate- when that happens, the family is to cease any contact with that person. Allegedly, "inappropriate practical jokes" were played on Allen and Rachelle when they were away from Elizabeth. Elizabeth says that her children were "brainwashed" to believe that she is a "bad person".

After moving to Idaho, Elizabeth got into an 18-month long custody battle with the children's father, Nephi Fischer, and gained full custody of Allen, Rachelle, and their older sister Elintra in 2021. Since then, Nephi has allegedly tried to regain custody multiple times.

Elintra Dee Fischer, Allen and Rachelle's older sister, went missing on the 1st of January 2023 at the age of 17. She took "the vehicle" (I'm assuming Elizabeth's car?) and left it along the route with a note to Elizabeth that said that she was leaving to return to FLDS, and that she will pay for the gas she used up to get to where she abandoned the car. After leaving the car, Elintra must've gotten another vehicle or a ride from someone else who took her to her destination.

Elizabeth said that her relationship with her children was "close", especially in recent months- Allen would often sleep on the couch in her room, and Elizabeth often shared her bed with Rachelle, who suffered from frequent nightmres.

DISAPPEARANCE

Allen and Rachelle were last seen at 7 PM on the 22nd of June.

It's believed that the siblings were taken "between 6 PM and 8 PM", when Elizabeth was attending a family Bible class. Before she left, the siblings asked if they could go to "the shop" (I'm not sure what is meant by that exactly) to watch videos online when their mother was gone. When Elizabeth returned home at about 9 PM, Allen and Rachelle were gone. It's theorized that they were taken by Elintra to "fulfill their religious obligations", as they likely believed that it was their salvation and that they will be damned for eternity if they won't.

Elizabeth claims that she saw their estranged family's cars drive by their home and the shop the children went to on the 22nd of June for about a month before her children went missing. She believes that the three of them were being watched, and that the family was waiting for the right moment to take Allen and Rachelle.

It's believed that the siblings went into a gray Honda sedan with Utah plates and were taken to their sister's (most likely Elintra's) house in Mendon, Utah, about 10 miles (16.1 km) outside of Logan.

Allen and Rachelle were reported missing on the 22nd of June at 8:48 PM by Elisabeth.

Elizabeth believes that her children were taken in response to alarming statements made in August of 2022 by Warren Jeffs- a disgraced FLDS leader who is currently serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault (at the time of his arrest, he had 24 underaged "wives") . His recent "revelation" claims that all FLDS children have to die in order to be reborn as "pure beings". Jeffs and other FLDS leaders have told their followers to retrieve their children "by any means necessary" to help the cult prepare for the "end of times"- the children are supposed to be "gathered" to assist in "building Zion", where they will then die and become "pure", "translated" beings. The children will then allegedly resurrect like Jesus Christ did, in two and a half/three days. It's believed that the current leadership of the FLDS church is leading the followers to the similar fates suffered by people who died in Jonestown or Waco.

Allen and Rachelle most likely didn't take off by themselves- the compound is in the middle of the desert with no bus or train access, so they were almost certainly picked up by an FLDS member with a car.

On the 23rd of June, an Amber Alert for the siblings was issued after police found out about Jeffs' 2022 revelation.

The Idaho State Police were unsure if the children have left the immediate area of their home or if they were still close by. They also said that the grey Honda “has not travelled to Idaho during the time that Rachelle and Allen went missing”, but the story about them being taken by an older sibling is still considered true. Elizabeth believes that whoever took her children might've been lying in wait somewhere close by untill the situation died down, and then took them out of state.

CONCLUSION

While the FLDS and LDS (also known as Mormons) share the similar origin and history, the two groups have no formal or official connection.

A tip submitted to The Uvalde Foundation for Kids said that the siblings might be in Fredonia, Arizona, which is just 10 minutes away from Kanab, Utah. In 2024, multiple FLDS children from Utah were relocated to Fredonia- for example, there was a case of three siblings who were missing from Beaver, Utah, who were relocated to Fredonia by their father, a member of FLDS, who was assisted by other members of the church. Ground searches were conducted in reaction to the tip, but Allen and Rachelle haven't been located.

Very recently, on the 1st of May 2026, it's been revealed that Elintra has officially obtained a driver's license in Utah at some point, and in consequence she has been removed from the NCIC's missing person database. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is interested in speaking with Elintra in relation to Allen's and Rachelle's disappearance.

There is a $5000 reward for "information leading to the safe return of Rachelle and Allen".

Allen Larand Fischer was 13 when he went missing and will be 14 near the end of May 2026. He is a white boy, 5’9” (175 cm) and 135 pounds (61 kg). He had longer sandy blonde hair and has blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans and black slip-on shoes resembling Crocs.

Rachelle Leray Fischer was 15 when she went missing and will be 16 in June 2026. She is a white girl, 5’5” (165 cm) 135 pounds (61 kg). She has brown hair that she kept in braids and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a green prairie dress.

If you have any info about the siblings' whereabouts, contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 208-745-9210 (option 7). You can also contact the Uvalde Foundation for Kids’ crisis line at 254-499-8027 if you want to remain anonymous (they're the ones offering the reward in this case).

SOURCES:

1. localnews8.com
2. abc4.com
3. gephardtdaily.com
4. the-independent.com
5. ktvz.com
6. kivitv.com
7. people.com
8. abc4.com
9. eastidahonews.com

Allen and Rachelle's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! I wanted to bring an update to a case I've been covering for a few years now. This update is pretty significant for the case against Noel's parents, and it will hopefully bring some peace to his remaining family.

I'll copy the short version of my last summary of the case here; If you want to read the very first post, you can do it here.

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez was born on the 2nd of February 2017. He was born prematurely, which resulted in him suffering from developmental delays in speech and behavior, estropia (which gave him crossed eyes) and a lung condition (he had to have oxygen inhalations). Noel's parents were Cindy Rodriguez-Singh and stepfather Arshdeep Singh. Noel had nine siblings- six ages 11 to 5 months who lived with him and his parents in Everman, Texas, and three eldest who lived with Noel's grandparents (their ages are unknown).

The family lived in a converted shed on the property belonging to the 71-year old Charles Parson. Parson wasn't related to either of the adults, but he was Cindy's friend of ten years. Parson had allegedly saw Cindy and her three kids living in a van in front of his house, and, moved by their situation, he allowed them to stay on his property- first in his house, and then in the shed, once the family grew. The family didn't have to pay rent, but they were responsible for the groceries, and Cindy would look after Parson due to his advanced age.

Noel and his two siblings were taken away temporarily after Cindy had a drunk driving incident, where she hit a pole with her car while having the kids in her car. The siblings were given to Patrice Paris, a foster mother with experience in looking after special needs kids. She and Noel developed a close bond, and stayed in contact after Cindy got her custody rights in 2021. Patrice's last contact with Noel was in the fall of 2022, when Cindy stopped responding to her facetime calls.

Noel was last seen in October of 2022, when he was present during the birth of his little sisters in a hospital, though the staff had mentioned that he looked "malnourished" and "unwell". In the same month, Noel missed a string of doctor's appointments, and Cindy got a letter saying that if Noel will miss one more visit, his benefits will stop coming. One of Cindy's friends said that she allegedly wanted to borrow her son to pass him off as Noel.

On the 1st of November, Noel wasn't present during family's passport photos photoshoot. She applied for passports on the next day, without one for Noel. Four days later, she was looking up costs of a trip to India.

In March of 2023, CPS finally visited the family after recieving worrying statements about physical and mental abuse of Noel from his concerned relatives. The boy wasn't there; Cindy claimed that Noel is in Mexico with his biological father. Authorities have managed to contact Mariano Alvarez-Contreraz, Noel's father, who was deported to Mexico before Noel was even born, and claimed that he never met his son. There was no proof of Noel ever crossing the US-Mexico border either.

Only two days after that visit, Arshdeep stole 10,000$ from his employer. On the same day, the 22nd of March, the whole family of eight (Cindy, Arshdeep, and Noel's six siblings) were seen boarding a flight on the DFW airport, first to Istanbul, and then to India, where Arshdeep originally moved from.

This is kind of where this story ended. There were searches carried out on the family's property, but the investigators didn't share if they found anything, though cadaver dogs have reacted in a specific place on the property, and Arshdeep was seen throwing out a large rug before the family fled to India. Cindy was indicted on charges of capital murder, two counts of injury to a child, and abandonment with no intent to return.

On the 21st of August 2025, Cindy was booked into the Tarrant County jail after an arrest in India. She was charged with capital murder of a person under 10 years of age and had a bond of 10 milion $. It's unclear if Arshdeep was also arrested. It has been stated that the couple's six children will go into foster care.

The most recent news in the case is that human remains have been found on the 12th of May behind the house that Noel lived at with his family. They were located during a lawfully authorized search operation and handed over to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office for a forensic examination and an official identification.

The remains haven't been identified as Noel yet. I will update this post once there will be any official statement regarding the identity of the remains.

SOURCES:

1. fox4news.com

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for your votes and comments under my last post about Sheena Gibbs- I hope that she will be found soon.

Today I'd like to highlight another disappearance.

BACKGROUND

Starla Goings was 65 when she went missing from Munising, Michigan, USA.

She worked as a bank teller in a few different local banks over the years.

She had filed for divorce from her husband shortly before her disappearance, and a pre-trial conference was scheduled for September. Starla was allegedly "doing good" and "handling her affairs and going about life in the best way she knew how” during that period.

Starla had an adult daughter, Steffanie Goings. Steffanie lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, Anthony, and they also did when Starla went missing. The couple stayed in regular contact with Starla, and talked with her every two or three days. Starla also had an adult son named Nick Livermore, who lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Starla was a diabetic and she used a glucose monitoring device that connected to her phone via bluetooth.

Steffanie Goings, Starla's daughter, said that her mother was "(...)very bubbly. She was very positive. She was always smiling”.

Christi Marsch, Starla's friend, said that she was "this shining person everyone wanted to be around".

Senior Pastor Jason LaFlamme, who is the pastor of the Munising Baptist Church that Starla seemingly attended, said that she was "well-known in the community; she (was) a lot of fun"; "She (enjoyed) giving people a hard time, and I (enjoyed) giving it right back".

DISAPPEARANCE

On the 11th of August, Starla filed a stipulated order to release real estate sale proceeds.

On the 14th, Starla picked up a check from her lawyer's office in Marquette from the sale of a rental property that she and her husband owned.

Starla was last seen on the 15th of August at her home. Steffanie and Anthony called Starla on that day and reportedly had a "regular" conversation with her; Starla told them she was at the State Fair in Escanaba, Michigan, at the time of the call. When Steffanie asked her why she came to the fair with her husband, Starla wrote a text that said "I am not reconciling with (husband). I wanted cotton candy. I rode in a car to Escanaba and ate fair food. Nothing more. The nicer I am, the easier my life goes". The text was sent at about 10 PM. Several witnesses have confirmed that Starla was present at the fair. The readings from Starla's glucose monitor are tied to her location; They have placed her at her home untill midnight of the 15th, meaning that she came back home after the fair- after midnight, no new readings were logged.

On the 16th, Steffanie texted Starla asking if the two of them could talk her trip to the fair with her husband the day before, but Steffanie recieved no reply.

On the 17th, Steffanie, Anthony, and Nick were unable to reach Starla- they called Starla's friends, but nobody had seen her or heard from her since Friday. Anthony called the landline phone in Starla's and her husband's house, which was picked up by Starla's husband. Anthony asked if he could talk to Starla, but her husband said that she's not home and that he haven't seen her.

Police was notified about Starla's disappearance on the 17th, around 6:30 PM. They were first asked to do a welfare check on her- when they arrived at the house, they met Starla's husband, but no Starla. He was the last person who saw her; According to him, Starla left the house around midnight of the 15th and hasn't been home since. He let the police inside willingly.

The sheriff's office have asked anyone who saw Starla's car (an orange, 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV) between late hours of 15th and early hours of 17th.

The vehicle was located on the 17th at dusk at a roadside lot on Peninsula Point Road in Munising Township, a short distance (about 3.5 mil / 5.6 km) from Starla's home at Sixteen Mile Lake Road "shortly after her disappearance". A resident reported that it's been parked there since the 15th. It's speculated that Starla left her car there to carpool to the fair with her husband- according to Steffanie, members of the family did it somewhat frequently if they "didn’t want to drive the 3 miles (4.9 km) back into 16-mile (25,7 km) lake just to turn around and leave again.

Investigators have confirmed that forensic evidence related to Starla's disappearance has been collected and is being tested, but they haven't specified what kind of evidence they have.

On the 28th of October, police brought a tractor to a residence at the Peninsula Point Road, where Starla's husband lived, in order to look for evidence at the property. They also confirmed for the first time that foul play might've been involved in Starla's disappearance. It hasn't been reported to the public if any evidence was found.

Starla's phone and apple watch haven't been located to this day.

CONCLUSION

Steffanie wrote a couple posts on websleuths where she gave out more details about Starla's disappearance. She said that she and her brother Nick have been estranged from their biological father/Starla's husband since 2023. Starla filed for divorce in late May of 2025 and served her husband papers in early June. They continued to share a house. Starla had the property appraised, but none of the belongings inside could be removed by either of them due to the divorce proceedings. Steffanie and Nick tried to convince their mother to move out, but she was too afraid of what might happen to her belongings that she'd be forced to leave behind. On the 13th and 14th of August, Starla's husband made some strange/disturbing posts about her on his social media profile (screenshots of said posts are available in the websleuths thread).

Starla Goings was 65 when she went missing. She is a white woman, 5’4” (163 cm), and 160 pounds (73 kg). She has bright white hair and brown eyes. She’s carrying either a black Lululemon bag or a mini black backpack.

If you have any info on Starla's whereabouts, contact the Alger County Sheriff’s Office at (906) 387-7030.

SOURCES:

1. uppermichiganssource.com
2. nbcnews.com
3. uppermichiganssource.com
4. miningjournal.net

Starla's websleuths.com thread

Hello everyone! As always, I'd like to thank you for all your comments and votes under my last post about the San Juan Capistrano Jane Doe- I hope that she will get her name soon.

Today I'd like to bring up a disappearance case.

BACKGROUND

Sheena Gibbs was 40 when she went missing from Chicago, Illinois, USA.

She grew up in rural Iowa and moved to Chicago when she was 20. She lived in the Rogers Park neighbourhood at the time of her disappearance.

Sheena graduated from the Graduate School at Northwestern University in Evanston in Chicago, and then from Spoon River College. During her time in Spoon River College, Sheena was the vice president of the student senate and she graduated with honors.

Sheena used to work as a home health aide and valued helping others; Her most recent job involved performing Covid test scheduling at the University of Illinois Chicago. She dedicated her spare time do various social justice causes as an activist.

According to her friends, Sheena was in a string of abusive relationships- she allegedly went from being a "life of the party" to being distant, and they could go months without any contact from her. Sheena started dating a man in early 2021, and the couple lived together in Rogers Park. In June of 2021, Sheena told her friend that her boyfriend threw a coffee mug at her during an argument; The friend told her to be wary of him, but Sheena returned to living with the man in their shared appartment.

Sheena was a cancer survivor- at 25, she went through "an excessively lengthy and challenging battle" with cervical cancer. Sheena went through chemotherapy and radiation while living in Chicago, where she was "pretty much alone", with no friends or family who supported her close by. She went through a hysterectomy and her cancer was in remission after a few years of therapy, but the process left its mark on Sheena, who "changed forever"- according to her friend, Sheena possibly thought that "a part of her was damaged and beyond repair". Her illness was also what seemingly pushed her into dating "troubled" men that she wanted to "save", according to her friends.

In September of 2021, Sheena's mother started having serious health problems, and Sheena decided to come back to Iowa to look after her, as she knew that her mother didn't want to move to a nursing home. At the time of her disappearance, Sheena would travel between Iowa and Chicago, as she had Power of Attorney over her hospitalized mother's healthcare. Sheena allegedly wasn't thrilled about moving back to Iowa, but she wanted to support her mother as best as she could.

Lela Tarver, Sheena's aunt, said that her niece was a "Go-getter(...). She (was) very strong-willed and positive”. 

Sheena's family said that she was "Bubbly, upbeat and outgoing".

DISAPPEARANCE

Lela last heard from Sheena on the 3rd of November. Sheena was supposed to drive to Davenport that day and arrive on the next day, on the 4th, to see her mother at the hospital she was staying. Sheena usually got to Davenport by bus, but no ticket has been bought under Sheena's name, nor has there been any proof of her boarding a bus at all.

Sheena was last seen on the 5th of November in Rogers Park, near the Greenleaf & Sheridan intersection. At the time, Sheena was staying at a hotel called the Greenleaf Hotel in Rogers Park since the 1st of November, allegedly with "a guest"; On the 5th, she checked out of the hotel using her credit card. That was the last time she was seen.

On the 8th, Sheena's friend recieved a text message from her, where she said that she was planning to move back home to Iowa.

Her family tried to call Sheena many times, but she didn't pick up. Sheena usually stayed in regular contact with her family, so her not picking up their calls was very unusual. They reported her missing after she failed to show up at the hospital.

When police was informed by Sheena's family that they recieved a tip about Sheena being seen in the Greenleaf Hotel, they didn't go there to collect the ring camera footage- instead, the footage was overwritten with time, and it's now impossible to see if the "guest" Sheena was allegedly staying with was recorded at any point so that they could be identified.

Police have attempted to locate Sheena's phone, but it couldn't be done as the phone has been turned off. Her phone last pinged in a village called Winthrop Harbor, Illinois near the Wisconsin border, on the 10th of November. Sheena's loved ones didn't believe she had any ties to the village. Police and volunteers searched Winthrop Harbor months later, but they didn't find any clues.

In April of 2022, it was determined that Sheena's disappearance was a result of a crime.

CONCLUSION

Sheena was described as "habitually missing" by police, by which they mean that she "goes missing often"; They haven't said anything else regarding the circumstances of Sheena's previous disappearences. They said that "traditional methods" have failed in tracking down Sheena, and they claimed to take an unconventional approach to finding her.

Sheena's friend, who wanted to remain annonymous, said that she might've fallen victim to human trafficking. Sheena's friends did some digging on her boyfriend, and he allegedly has ties to a group who's known to traffic young girls, with some of the members convicted for it. The boyfriend's name is known to Sheena's friends and loved ones, but it was never publicized by police.

Sheena Louise Gibbs was 39 when she went missing, and would be about 44 now. She is a Black woman, 5'9 (69 inch / 175 cm) and 180 pounds (82 kg). She has black hair and brown eyes. Her ears are pierced.

If you have any info on Sheena's whereabouts, contact the Chicago Police Department - Area North at (312) 744-8266 (case number JE460184)

SOURCES:

1. wgntv.com
2. abc7chicago.com
3. suntimes.com
4. thecinemaholic.com
5. ourquadcities.com
6. NamUS.gov
7. charleyproject.org
8. Black Girl Gone podcast (via youtube.com)

Sheena's websleuths.com thread