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

[Maplesyrup]

I absolutely agree that whatever has happened to Linda was not a common occurrence.

If something less nefarious happened to her at the farm, or on her way home (snake bite, bee sting, dog bite, etc.), do you believe she would have been located by now? I'm trying to picture an accidental or unplanned event happening at the farm, and am at a loss. Would church members not hear her screams, or see her laying on the ground if she were bitten or stung? I do not live in the area, and am quite unfamiliar with the lay of the land- but would other church members be taking the same route Linda did when leaving services? Would it be easy to see her at the edge if the roadway if some type of accident had occurred (is the grass typically high enough to camouflage someone)? If copperhead snakes are common to the area, would a person chose to walk on the roadway vs. crossing through fields? Any of the awesome local members able to answer?

I previously mentioned the possibility of Linda falling into an opening in the ground. I happen to be in the process of preparing my childhood home for sale. Less than a week ago it hit me that right there in my mom and dad's back yard is an abandoned hand dug water well. It is covered by a concrete slab that looks just like a nice place to sit and appears totally harmless. I don't know why it never occurred to me what was underneath that cement slab but I think since I grew up with it, it was simply a monster in plain site that no one gave a second thought to. In reality, the cement covers a well that I was told years ago is about 28 feet deep and 5 feet across. I played on that cover, my children played on it. I am an anxious mess waiting for the contractor to get there this month to crush the lid and fill it in. I make this point because in speaking to others, I am hearing stories about old wells. Online you can read about old forgotten wells out in fields, maybe they were covered by wood and it rotted and fell in leaving a hole that grass gradually grew over top of. IF Linda never left the property, I hope that entire area has been closely examined for old abandoned wells. In the case of my parents old well, there is NO record of it since it is so old. On paper it does not exist. These old wells are deadly, can contain water to drown someone or at a minimum cause fatal fall injuries.

 

[adot0902]

Well if it was near their home then that would make sense as to why google maps showed red, as if that part of the road was shutdown, and orange before and after that area. I guess also because of rubbernecking. But I don’t know.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All of this is MOO. JSO.

There was a horrible crash on I-81 that made all of the local roads jam up with tractor and trailer trucks because this main interstate was closed for hours. Death investigation with coroner, I included a link.
Crashes closed parts of Interstate 81 and Interstate 78 in Lebanon County

 

[GordianKnot]

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LE has consistently stated that there were no signs from anyone she knew that she was planning to run away.

If she had a medical emergency, her body would most likely have been discovered by now.

Given what few facts we've been provided, foul play or some type of misadventure appear to be the most probable scenarios.

IF it's a case of foul play, because of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and the relative proximity of the farm to her house/short walking distance, it's more likely than not that she knew the perpetrator somehow.

The odds of this being a stranger abduction/crime of opportunity where a predator just happened to be driving down those roads at the exact time she was walking home alone are astronomically high.

JMO.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

I've caught up on the comments; also just read the local Fox23 article where LE said Linda was not walking home, but was reported missing from the home where the service was held. Is this the same thing? She was at the farm to attend the service and no one could find her at some point - assumption was she started walking home? Just trying to understand the timeline.

 

[elmomom]

Maybe some of our members who are more familiar with the Amish community will chime in. But I have lived just south of Lancaster county for 30 years, and I have always heard the opinion that if the police believe this is an Amish on Amish crime, they will step back and let the Amish handle it on their own. No arrests, no investigation, no court cases, etc. I wonder if this is what they are hinting at when saying she was not walking home, and we are not still searching but support the people who are.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

Maybe some of our members who are more familiar with the Amish community will chime in. But I have lived just south of Lancaster county for 30 years, and I have always heard the opinion that if the police believe this is an Amish on Amish crime, they will step back and let the Amish handle it on their own. No arrests, no investigation, no court cases, etc. I wonder if this is what they are hinting at when saying she was not walking home, and we are not still searching but support the people who are.

That was my first thought - I haven't been following this case at all, just dove in this morning - and wondered if it could have been an Amish/Amish crime after all. Her parents called LE on Monday morning; that gave the family and community time the previous day, the day she disappeared, to question people who were at the service (the youth group?). Possibly without getting any answers, they turned to LE on Monday. But then did find evidence or suspicions within the community of it not being an English/outsider and notified LE, who pulled back to let them proceed. We'd have to know more about the situation on that Sunday, at the service and the home where it was held - and we aren't going to be told those details, obviously.
MOO

 

[Hereshecomes75]

Maybe some of our members who are more familiar with the Amish community will chime in. But I have lived just south of Lancaster county for 30 years, and I have always heard the opinion that if the police believe this is an Amish on Amish crime, they will step back and let the Amish handle it on their own. No arrests, no investigation, no court cases, etc. I wonder if this is what they are hinting at when saying she was not walking home, and we are not still searching but support the people who are.

Some people who have an axe to grind against the Amish assert that this is the case, but I don’t think it’s true, especially not in serious matters.

Possibly if it’s a neighbor dispute or something, the police would let them handle it with the bishop’s mediation. But in the case of a person being abused or harmed, there’s no way the police would be made aware of it and then just allow the Amish to handle it if it only involved Amish people. Lancaster County Amish have recently been charged by police with sex crimes, failure to report sex crimes, animal cruelty, and manslaughter or neglect when their children were injured or killed in farming accidents, just off the top of my head.

 

[Tricia]

I've caught up on the comments; also just read the local Fox23 article where LE said Linda was not walking home, but was reported missing from the home where the service was held. Is this the same thing? She was at the farm to attend the service and no one could find her at some point - assumption was she started walking home? Just trying to understand the timeline.

Hey Everyone,
Today on Websleuths YouTube True Crime Update I'll read this post by TwoBlueJays. This post is helpful because it clears up a part of the timeline that I had wrong too.
Monday through Friday at 2:00 PM Eastern I do a 15 minute (and sometimes more than an hour just depends) show on what you all are posting about on Websleuths. CLICK HERE AND JOIN US MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AT TWO PM EASTERN.

 

[cutter99]

I have never heard of the police backing off a supposed Amish on Amish crime. In all the years I lived in the area, I cannot think of anything happening like this. Amish children to not go missing with any regularity from Lancaster County.

I have heard the Amish hiding certain crimes that happen within their community, and these things are never brought forth to law enforcement in the first place.

 

[Trackergd]

Heck, Amish have even been busted for growing pot. I seriously doubt LE would not fully investigate an abduction or homicide.

 

[Trackergd]

SABBM:
<snip>

LE has consistently stated that there were no signs from anyone she knew that she was planning to run away.

If she had a medical emergency, her body would most likely have been discovered by now.

Given what few facts we've been provided, foul play or some type of misadventure appear to be the most probable scenarios.

IF it's a case of foul play, because of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and the relative proximity of the farm to her house/short walking distance, it's more likely than not that she knew the perpetrator somehow.

The odds of this being a stranger abduction/crime of opportunity where a predator just happened to be driving down those roads at the exact time she was walking home alone are astronomically high.

JMO.

I am heavily leaning this way and agree it is the most probable scenario, however I still hold a little hope she left for some reason and is OK somewhere.

There was evidence of some sort, it may have been washed away or missed, but there is always something.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

I am heavily leaning this way and agree it is the most probable scenario, however I still hold a little hope she left for some reason and is OK somewhere.

There was evidence of some sort, it may have been washed away or missed, but there is always something.

Agree - victim of foul play is my guess as well. Given the circumstances as we known them, and the somewhat insular community in which she lives, I would speculate on spurned attentions from a male, married or unmarried, leading to violence at some point after the service in an area near the farmhouse where the service took place, and that she would be placed not far away in an overlooked area.
MOO

 

[oviedo]

Agree - victim of foul play is my guess as well. Given the circumstances as we known them, and the somewhat insular community in which she lives, I would speculate on spurned attentions from a male, married or unmarried, leading to violence at some point after the service in an area near the farmhouse where the service took place, and that she would be placed not far away in an overlooked area.
MOO

my guess is within a 5 mile radius of the church...IMO

 

[Rosegold68]

well its pretty much at a dead end now. maybe we will never know what has happened here

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

well its pretty much at a dead end now. maybe we will never know what has happened here

Let’s hope not. And I believe words have power, so ixnay on that thought. MOO!

 

[Alethea]

well its pretty much at a dead end now. maybe we will never know what has happened here

I don't think so! Many cases don't have a major clue or smoking gun. LE recently arrested the murderer of a Mennonite girl in NM/AZ after tracking down a car spotted near where she was abducted and tracing it to a military base. There could be a lot going on behind the scenes and we will have justice for Linda too.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

I don't think so! Many cases don't have a major clue or smoking gun. LE recently arrested the murderer of a Mennonite girl in NM/AZ after tracking down a car spotted near where she was abducted and tracing it to a military base. There could be a lot going on behind the scenes and we will have justice for Linda too.

I think things have to be happening behind the scenes, because nearly everything is being done out of the public eye. The police have released next to no information other than images of Linda and some rudimentary facts of her disappearance. The public doesn’t have any of the bio information that’s typically given out about a missing person. No one from among the family or friends has issued a statement or plea, not even through a spokesperson. The Amish searches concentrating on water, even water counties away, make me think there’s a legitimate reason for doing so. It seems like there is a direction to the investigation, but it’s nothing the public needs to know right now.

One thing I’d like to know: if a person called the East Lampeter police to say they were on one of the roads during the timeframe the police specified, did the police ask specific questions?Or did they just ask if the caller saw anything noteworthy as they traveled there?

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Good afternoon my WS friends. I’ve been away a couple of days and had so hoped to find the header for Linda to say “Found Safe” when I checked in.

Sadly, not the case. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I’m very afraid that won’t ever be the header. Of course I pray for a different outcome and would love to be proved wrong.

With zero digital footprint and such limited, sketchy details to go on, I can’t even imagine how or where they could begin an investigation.

It bothers me we don’t even know the basics, though that doesn’t mean LE doesn’t know more than we do. Ever since they changed her last sighting to being at the farm I cannot get rid of this nagging feeling that something happened there.

I think the one thing I’d like to know most is who saw her last? I can’t believe she’d just leave services without saying goodbye to a single person! It makes no sense. I’d at least tell a family member I was leaving.

Continued prayers for a hopeful outcome.

Hmmmm...
Just jumping off your post...
It made me think...

I have been thinking all along that LS left BEFORE her family left to go home from the Sunday service...
But has that been verified by officials?

Perhaps... Instead...
LS stayed until most or all visitors had LEFT the service...

Just a thought...

 

[Hereshecomes75]

FBI poster for Linda
LINDA STOLTZFOOS | Federal Bureau of Investigation

There’s a reward of up to $10k for info that locates her and results in finding the...abductor? Notice the link for the FBI poster says “kidnap.”

 

[jhock]

From the FBI poster:
"The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the recovery of Linda Stoltzfoos and the identification, arrest and conviction of the subject(s) responsible for her disappearance."
This is a statement by the FBI that they believe Linda was abducted.
The hunt for answers takes a new turn.