Found Safe OR - Demi Helenius, 23, Portland, 5 Aug 2017

[jmcgladr]

This is so bizarre to me... late this afternoon I listened to the Thin Air podcast about James Rowe, who is missing and is associated with this same "Landmark" group. Then, just now I come to WS and see this woman's forum. Weird coincidence. It's Episode #24 if anyone is interested.

Sounds like a great, informative podcast - will check it out!


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[esldanmac]

Her purse was found in the vehicle

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[esldanmac]

Very short interview during the last 5 minutes of the program. They had a detective on as well but if I was missing I wouldn't want to have him looking for me. He seemed very casual and the host was trying to get him to show some urgency but there was none. The fact she left her purse in the car and someone was seen throwing away her phone is very alarming to me. Where are you Demi?

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[Paddleboarder]

https://www.facebook.com/MissingPiecesNetwork/posts/1712706849035486

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[JerseyGirl]

Even our David Lohr makes mistakes. Demi does not live in Rock Creek, OR 140 miles east of Portland. She lives with her parents who enlisted the help of Washington county LE. The Rock Creek in Washington county is a neighborhood, fairly close to Portland.

https://www.mapquest.com/directions...rport-350860178/to/us/or/rock-creek-282920410

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockcreek,_Oregon

https://nextdoor.com/neighborhood/rockcreekarea--portland--or/

Yes, thanks! HuffPost should correct that, Rock Creek is about 12 miles west of Portland.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Her mother said she left the conference sometime between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The DQ employee told the family that a man came through the drive-up lane around 8 p.m. Saturday night with the phone, claiming to have found it in a nearby parking lot and asking if Dairy Queen had a lost and found.

On Monday, Helenius’s Volkswagen was located in Cottage Grove, parking behind the Mobil gas station on the 1100 block of Pacific Highway between the gas station’s building and a mobile home park. It was unknown how long the vehicle had been there. A gas station employee Tuesday said he had no comment. A surveillance camera on the front of the building was visible. It was not known Tuesday whether the camera had captured images of the Volkswagen or anyone inside of it.

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/lo...-car-cell-phone-found-in-lane-county.html.csp

 

[whitelilac]

Landmark Forum.....when someone mentioned that people during these "forums" were prohibited from going to the bathroom for 10 hours or more, it rang a bell.

I just remembered why....this "organization" used to be called EST started by one Werner Erhart(d?) back in the 80s . It was a big thing in Montreal (where I lived) back then. I had a good friend who got completely taken in by them, "changed" her life and thinking. She tried to recruit me and others. She was bright and accomplished.....and then she suddenly disappeared.
About two or three years after that I received an envelope from her...in it was just a photograph of her, she looked completely beaten, she looked horrible, I think it was a cry of help....as though she was a hostage or something. The letter was postmarked from Switzerland, no return address. Very weird. I could never find her. It haunted me. I often wonder what became of her some 35 years later.

This is a cult imo, and dangerous .....

I hope that somehow Dani is ok, but sadly I have my doubts.

 

[Lilibet]

Yes, thanks! HuffPost should correct that, Rock Creek is about 12 miles west of Portland.

I submitted a correction to the story just now.

 

[Lilibet]

Landmark Forum.....when someone mentioned that people during these "forums" were prohibited from going to the bathroom for 10 hours or more, it rang a bell.

I just remembered why....this "organization" used to be called EST started by one Werner Erhart(d?) back in the 80s . It was a big thing in Montreal (where I lived) back then. I had a good friend who got completely taken in by them, "changed" her life and thinking. She tried to recruit me and others. She was bright and accomplished.....and then she suddenly disappeared.
About two or three years after that I received an envelope from her...in it was just a photograph of her, she looked completely beaten, she looked horrible, I think it was a cry of help....as though she was a hostage or something. The letter was postmarked from Switzerland, no return address. Very weird. I could never find her. It haunted me. I often wonder what became of her some 35 years later.

This is a cult imo, and dangerous .....

I hope that somehow Dani is ok, but sadly I have my doubts.

I'm so sorry about your friend. :heartbeat: I posted in post #3 a link to a long article tracing the roots of Landmark back to est. Werner Erhard was a name he made up on his way to CA. It amazes me that he was able to become such a big deal back then. Had I encountered est in the 60's I would have been a prime candidate, being the seeker that I was. Fortunately, est missed me. I could have been your friend. I'm worried for Demi.

 

[bears10]

I'm hoping Demi wasn't called on to "share" in front of the audience and then emotionally beat down by the leader like many of the stories I've read. No wonder they knew the name of the guy who didn't return to the forum - according to one of the articles I read, the forum takes your name tag when you leave for a break, presumably to track who doesn't come back- aka who dissents. I'm baffled at this landmark thing (group? Organization? Cult?) and how they prey on people.

 

[esldanmac]

I think the whole Landmark thing is a red herring. I went to one of their weekend events. It was long and it was intense but i don't think you can call it a cult. I have done a lot of group therapy and it wasn't a lot different from that. Interesting side piece but the only way it could be related is if she met someone there.

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[jccoa1999]

I thought I read in an earlier post about her belonging to a bunch of "meet up" groups! Some of these religious groups easy prey

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[bears10]

I think the whole Landmark thing is a red herring. I went to one of their weekend events. It was long and it was intense but i don't think you can call it a cult. I have done a lot of group therapy and it wasn't a lot different from that. Interesting side piece but the only way it could be related is if she met someone there.

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Foul play is certainly not for only way landmark could be related No offense at all but sometimes people attend these forums because it gives them a sense of hope or belonging. From what I've read, some forum leaders take a very tough approach and seem to beat people down to "build them back up". While that may not have happened at your particular forum, it's certainly happened to many people. So I hope she didn't get emotional during the forum, decide to leave, and do something to harm herself.

Hopefully she just needed some time away to think. Her car being found concerns me though.

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Family of Demi Helenius seeks 'most important clue that the public can help us with'[/h]

"We are not sure if she drove it or another person," said Melody Helenius, mother of 23-year-old Demi Helenius. "We need any eyewitness that can place her on I-5 south any time after 3 p.m. Saturday. This is the most important clue that the public can help us with."

"Anything is going to help," Casey Cully, Demi's brother, said Tuesday in Cottage Grove. "Demi deserves all of the positivity that we can possibly bring to this and so can our family staying strong, and we are fighting ... we want her back."

Cully said they plan to stay in Cottage Grove all evening to get the word out about his sister's disappearance.

According to her family, Demi was last seen wearing a light shirt, overalls and Tom's shoes. Her hair was pulled back and she had no makeup on.

http://kval.com/news/local/family-o...portant-clue-that-the-public-can-help-us-with

 

[esldanmac]

Foul play is certainly not for only way landmark could be related No offense at all but sometimes people attend these forums because it gives them a sense of hope or belonging. From what I've read, some forum leaders take a very tough approach and seem to beat people down to "build them back up". While that may not have happened at your particular forum, it's certainly happened to many people. So I hope she didn't get emotional during the forum, decide to leave, and do something to harm herself.

Hopefully she just needed some time away to think. Her car being found concerns me though.

I definitely agree with you about the potential motivation of people who go to Landmark or est. And she could have been overwhelmed certainly. I don't see this case as self harm. The phone thrown from the car makes me think someone else was involved. Sending good vibes to Demi.

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[Gardener1850]

“She has no money. She doesn't have a credit card. She doesn't have a bank card. Her ID, some money, and her keys with her fob and our house keys was in the car unlocked,” said Melody Helenius, Demi’s mother.

Family and friends also planned to search the Creswell area Tuesday evening.
For now, the search will go on. Helenius' family said they want her to know she is loved.
“This girl is missed. We will not rest until she's home. Anything you can do to just bring her back. Our hearts are broken until she returns home safely alive in our arms. Anything you can do, please help us, please,” said Culley.

Family members said Helenius had recently started taking new anxiety medication, but her family said that doesn't change the fact that she's missing and they have no idea what may have happened.

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/missi...s-spearhead-search-in-cottage-grove/462983625

BBM. I was wondering about this. Taking anxiety medication and attending a self-help conference, IMO, both point to her struggling with something personal.
I hope she is safe somewhere just "taking a break" as that is the best case scenario right now. JMO.

 

[bears10]

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/missi...s-spearhead-search-in-cottage-grove/462983625

BBM. I was wondering about this. Take anxiety medication and attending a self-help conference, IMO, both point to her struggling with something personal.
I hope she is safe somewhere just "taking a break" as that is the best case scenario right now. JMO.

Ugh I feel like that forum is anything but a healthy place for someone newly on anxiety medication. I feel anxious just reading other people's experiences (which I've been doing all night lol, I got really sucked in)

Like you said in your previous post, the phone out the window doesn't really say self harm, unless it was thrown from her own car. Has it been confirmed yet if it was thrown from her car or an unknown? Sorry if that has been answered already, my focus has been on other aspects.

 

[Gardener1850]

Ugh I feel like that forum is anything but a healthy place for someone newly on anxiety medication. I feel anxious just reading other people's experiences (which I've been doing all night lol, I got really sucked in)

Like you said in your previous post, the phone out the window doesn't really say self harm, unless it was thrown from her own car. Has it been confirmed yet if it was thrown from her car or an unknown? Sorry if that has been answered already, my focus has been on other aspects.

Not sure which post of mine you are talking about. I don't think it's been confirmed the phone was thrown from her own car or who threw it. Family said they don't know who was driving her car but police should be able to tell if someone else drove her car and messed with her phone. Police have said there is no sign of foul play, so I'm not going to think that until we find out the results of them processing her car and phone, JMO. I currently lean towards self harm in this case (but I'm usually wrong). Trying to hope for the best that she is only voluntarily missing and will come back when she is ready.

 

[whitelilac]

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/missi...s-spearhead-search-in-cottage-grove/462983625

BBM. I was wondering about this. Take anxiety medication and attending a self-help conference, IMO, both point to her struggling with something personal.
I hope she is safe somewhere just "taking a break" as that is the best case scenario right now. JMO.

Struggling with her personal worth and identity, needing guidance through self help organizations would make Dani very vulnerable to like minded individuals or those who are further along the path with whom she might feel a "connection". That person may have ulterior and nefarious motives, take advantage of her fragility....especially during these intense gatherings. I fear she trusted the wrong person. I hope I am wrong, but the phone thrown out of the car is very concerning.

 

[3blue1pink]

Her mother said she left the conference sometime between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Where is that quote from mom ?
How does mom know ?


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