Found Deceased PA - Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster County, 21 June 2020 *arrest*

[elmomom]

This is just a hunch. I’m very familiar with the larger area outside of Lancaster. There are many major roads that lead to major cities. Though if any has ever traveled 896 south towards Delaware you are driving through 30+ miles of Amish farmlands. This road takes you to Newark Delaware. It’s a single lane majority of the way, it’s a beautiful drive. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cop on it, a ton of horse and buggies. My point is that if she was abducted, this road would take that car/van out of the area without our needing to go on a major highway. It’s not too far off from where she lived. I hope that whole area is being investigated.

Good point. That’s a beautiful drive if you aren’t in a hurry, and 896 is very easy to access from where she disappeared.

I travel 896 daily. There are noticeable Missing posters of Linda at several intersections just north of the DE border. Recently we have had some influx of Amish homeowners down here, around the DE-MD-PA state lines.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

Yes everything is closed on Sundays related to the Amish. As a previous poster stated they normally do travel in groups to work markets and such and it is normally a van. I personally have never seen the Amish take a traditional taxi. There are a lot of what they call drivers in the area who normally drive mini vans or commercial vans and the Amish hire them out to take them where they need to go. Like Walmart, target or Aldi's for example. The families I know will use the same driver all the time so they are very familiar them. When I visit my friend I take her anyplace like that she needs to go. I visit fairly often and always joke that I am going to retire there and be an Amish driver! I see the vans pull into the markets with an Amish mom and kids frequently but never have seen a taxi. JMO

I was visualizing a horse and buggy with a taxi sign at first. Lol. Thanks for the info, interesting stuff.

 

[Filly]

I was visualizing a horse and buggy with a taxi sign at first. Lol. Thanks for the info, interesting stuff.

Not to take away from this dear girl. I get ya. All I recall was Amish folk can't have buttons. Or fancy ones anyway. Then of course the film "Witness" taught us a little.

What I do know that Amish people may take a train. Years ago I worked for a Doctor in Center City and the people did take Amtrak in.

Please Dear Lord find this young lady!

 

[crhedBngr]

Just jumping into this case . . . prayers LS is found soon.

 

[ReaderRabbit]

Two types of tracking dogs. Ground Scent - predominantly bloodhounds. Air Scent - other breeds. Blood hounds scent on the skin cells that fall off of your body all the time. Air scent dogs pick up on your scent carried on air currents. In this particular case, a ground scent dog can pick up your trail, but will not know which direction you are traveling along that trail. Yes, the dog could have picked up on an earlier scent trail. If Linda walked the exact same side of the road and on the same pathway, the dog might not pick up on the stop. You would need a tracker to look at the prints to see if one set was on top of the other, and if at some point, the tracks back towards home stopped and if there were any indicators she turned towards the road, signs of a struggle or an abductors shoe or vehicle tire print. This evidence was all very apparent in the Jacob Wetterling case. The whole story was in prints in the dust. The ground scent dog also lost the scent in the same spot he was abducted. Hopefully someone has looked at another pair of her shoes and documented the wear patterns as they would be mostly the same for any pair of shoes she wore.

IMO amazing. Thank you for your input.

 

[flower_girl]

I live in Philadelphia and recently drove up to rural northern PA. There are many electronic billboards for Linda along the major highways here. Something I thought was interesting is that a week ago, it showed her in her Amish clothing and relevant missing info about her disappearance. Now - not sure when they started this because I hadn't been on the freeway until yesterday - some show two photos - one of her in Amish clothing and one of her in English clothing. It's just a top and jeans/pants, but I thought it was interesting that they added that.

 

[am80]

I live in Philadelphia and recently drove up to rural northern PA. There are many electronic billboards for Linda along the major highways here. Something I thought was interesting is that a week ago, it showed her in her Amish clothing and relevant missing info about her disappearance. Now - not sure when they started this because I hadn't been on the freeway until yesterday - some show two photos - one of her in Amish clothing and one of her in English clothing. It's just a top and jeans/pants, but I thought it was interesting that they added that.

This was an FBI composed picture as to what they believe she may look like in English clothes. (Amish call non-Amish English)
FBI releases composite picture of missing Amish girl

Whether she left on her own or if she was abducted for sex trafficking she would not be in her traditional Amish clothes at this point. (IMO) If they kept the picture of her just in her Amish clothes , she would easily go unrecognized in public.

 

[elmomom]

Less than 2 hours away
Police: Body found in Northumberland County

 

[Rotten apple]

I wish I could tell you the name of the pretzel stand I don't know it, I can check and see next time I'm there, there is only one though so that's probably it. But I can 100% confirm she has worked there for a while because I have bought pretzels and spoke to her, nothing personal just a hi, thank you.
One thing to note about the farmers market is its kind of cocooned in a safety zone that is one block. Right beside it is a small grocery store that is ALWAYS getting robbed, three bars two of Which were closed for being a nussiance (they were), only one remains. There is also the mayors bookstore which is pretty famous and the art museum. I recommend you mapquest and walk around the area. It's so hard to explain but it's a mini block in the middle of a high crime area that is trying to change.

It is Lil’s Pretzels that’s at the Broad Street Market, they’re absolutely delicious! It’s so sad knowing that we’ve (my family) most likely had many interactions with her at her stand, as we traditionally get breakfast pretzels when we go there.

 

[GordianKnot]

Missing Lancaster, Pa. Amish teen: What we know about Linda Stoltzfoos

SABBM:
Police seek help from the public
Police are asking motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and others who were traveling in the area between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Father's Day to call police.

The specific roads the police listed are:

• Mill Creek School Road
• Stumptown Road
• Gibbons Road
• Beechdale Road
• Mill Creek Road

_____________________

What direction are these roads r/t LS's house and the farm where she attended church that Sunday?

I haven't mapped the route b/t her house and the farm online yet, has anyone done that to see how long (minutes, not distance) it would take her to get home walking from the farm?

 

[24Roses]

I've been thinking more about Linda and given that LE have clarified that Linda was not last seen walking on Stumptown Road but actually at the farm where church was taking place (this was in an article posted here in the last few days), IMO I really do wonder if she didn't have an accident on the farm and either fell into or got stuck in something and is still there.
Also, if she left voluntarily (personally I don't think she did) IMO it would have to be with an English person she wanted to go with or another Amish with a driver's license who also wanted to leave since Amish don't ride in vehicles on Sunday unless it is an extreme emergencey. A regular driver for her family would know that they don't ride in vehicles on Sunday and would have reported taking her somewhere by now. Also, Linda would also know if such a driver wanted to take her somewhere because of an "emergency" that it wouldn't be true since her family was also at the church service. IMO-this also leads me to believe she was taken by force or she wouldn't get in a vehicle. I do also wonder though if there are any other missing Amish teens from that county or at least in Pennsylvania. However, if that was known by LE I would at least think they would say she may be with someone else (unless they don't want her to know they have that figured out). Maybe even someone who left the Amish in the last year or two who she was familiar with that her community or family could think of. Again all IMO and I don't think she is missing voluntarily anyway.

 

[GordianKnot]

Search widens for Amish teen missing in Lancaster County

SABBM:
Hess explained Stoltzfoos was walking alone down a secluded Stumptown Road in East Lampeter, near the Upper Leacock Township border.

Hess said officials have thoroughly searched the road and surrounding areas using horses, K9s, ATVs, scuba divers and drones. At this point, police said that they do not believe Stoltzfoos ran away.

"We're are trying to get her information, what she looks like, her descriptors, out to surrounding counties as well," Hess said.

Officials said Stoltzfoos didn't have access to electronics or social media, which complicates the investigation.
__________________________

This is the first time I've seen it explicitly stated that LS didn't have any access to electronic devices or SM.

She did NOT have a cell phone.

Confirmation, then, that she has no digital footprint for LE to track.

That is really, really, really bad news.

JMO.

 

[Rosiebones]

Do young Amish people, male and female, always have total choice as to who they will marry or is there a strong element of following parental or group expectations?

 

[sallye818]

This article

Search widens for Amish teen missing in Lancaster County

SABBM:
Hess explained Stoltzfoos was walking alone down a secluded Stumptown Road in East Lampeter, near the Upper Leacock Township border.

Hess said officials have thoroughly searched the road and surrounding areas using horses, K9s, ATVs, scuba divers and drones. At this point, police said that they do not believe Stoltzfoos ran away.

"We're are trying to get her information, what she looks like, her descriptors, out to surrounding counties as well," Hess said.

Officials said Stoltzfoos didn't have access to electronics or social media, which complicates the investigation.
__________________________

This is the first time I've seen it explicitly stated that LS didn't have any access to electronic devices or SM.

She did NOT have a cell phone.

Confirmation, then, that she has no digital footprint for LE to track.

That is really, really, really bad news.

JMO.

Also states that she was walking on the road, which I thought had been backpedaled on in the last couple of days. So is this article accurate about the cell phone/electronics info?

 

[Rosiebones]

Search widens for Amish teen missing in Lancaster County

SABBM:
Hess explained Stoltzfoos was walking alone down a secluded Stumptown Road in East Lampeter, near the Upper Leacock Township border.

Hess said officials have thoroughly searched the road and surrounding areas using horses, K9s, ATVs, scuba divers and drones. At this point, police said that they do not believe Stoltzfoos ran away.

"We're are trying to get her information, what she looks like, her descriptors, out to surrounding counties as well," Hess said.

Officials said Stoltzfoos didn't have access to electronics or social media, which complicates the investigation.
__________________________

This is the first time I've seen it explicitly stated that LS didn't have any access to electronic devices or SM.

She did NOT have a cell phone.

Confirmation, then, that she has no digital footprint for LE to track.

That is really, really, really bad news.

JMO.

This also mentions that the search has now expanded to"even outside of Pennsylvania now". I wonder what they have found to lead them in that direction and I wonder where outside of Pennsylvania they are looking

 

[janewall]

This article

Also states that she was walking on the road, which I thought had been backpedaled on in the last couple of days. So is this article accurate about the cell phone/electronics info?

The information about her walking on the road was backpedaled in the last couple of days. However that article is 5 days old, so it predates the backpedaling. I don't think that conflict in info about Linda's last known location would impact the verity of the info regarding her lack of any electronic footprint.

Do we know who was the source for the information that Linda was last seen walking on the road? I hope the police have tracked down the origin of that "sighting". MOO

 

[cutter99]

Do young Amish people, male and female, always have total choice as to who they will marry or is there a strong element of following parental or group expectations?

The Amish do not have arranged marriages per se. Young people are encouraged to date other local Amish. Sometimes there will be arranged dating outside of the immediate area with other Amish groups- there are large groups of Amish in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, as well as smaller groups in other states. You might introduce your friends to your cousin, whose family moved to the mid-west for the prospect of less expensive land.

However, there are strong parental and group expectations. You must join the church, you must adhere to the rules the church puts out, and your bishop is the last word on how you behave. The church, elders and bishop are all given carte blanch into your personal life- details of your marriage, children, business and finances. If they feel a need to sanction you, it is up to their discretion and there is nothing you can do about it.

If you leave the Amish before you officially join the church, you are not penalized as harshly as someone who joins the church and then leaves the Amish. A former church member who has left will be shunned- to what amount is up to the individual’s family. Some will have no contact ever with the person who left, others will shunned as little as not being allowed to eat at the same table as the rest of the family- think of it like the children’s table at Christmas.

 

[Trackergd]

Linda's picture in both Amish and English clothing on the electronic billboard along Rt 30 bypass near Rt 322.

 

[jhock]

Thank you for the nice welcome, JMOO. I'm hoping one of the forum members will ask the question that will break this case open.
John

 

[jhock]

There are commercial properties on the road Linda lives on. Some are building supply companies, manufacturing companies. Were any of those companies open on Sunday, maybe not to the public, but to ship orders or receive materials? Is it possible a trucker(s) from out of the area picked up or dropped off a cargo sometime Sunday? Could a predator trucker have come across Linda?