Found Deceased MT - Selina (Selena) Not Afraid, 16, I-90 rest area between Billings & Hardin, 1 Jan 2020

[crhedBngr]

JAN 8, 2020
Search for Hardin girl widens as FBI agents arrive to help
The sheriff said investigators are now looking at gas stations for information on an old green station wagon. That car, possibly a Subaru with Wyoming plates, was seen at the rest area on Jan. 1.

Good. Hoping this nails the suspect vehicle description.

And, hoping said vehicle was caught on surveillance camera(s) somewhere.

 

[Dave F.]

The Crow Tribe has several items of information about this search on their website:
Official Site of the Crow Tribe Executive Branch

 

[Seattle1]

Does anybody know if she was independently seen at the rest stop, or are the only witnesses the party goers whose story could be seen as odd?

Apparently the party goers state that Not Afraid wandered away from the broken down van to the extent that they could not find her. Or, that they made no effort to find her prior to leaving. In either case, the claim seems strange.

Likewise, I wonder if her phone activity could be used to support or detract from the possibility that she was at the rest stop?

I don't believe there were independent sightings of Selena at the rest stop and investigators added two more locations where the van allegedly stalled as the possible area where Selena may have walked off. It seems the witness's accounts were not consistent from one interview to the next.

As search expands for missing Hardin girl, sheriff hearing 'conflicting stories' from witnesses

 

[Dave F.]

Here is a more detailed of the search area, done by me in Google Earth. It includes the four different locations mentioned in news reports....called Fly Creek Rest Stop, the washouts, Toluca interchange (or just Toluca), and Milepost 491. IMO
Credit: Google Earth

 

[PommyMommy]

Selina Shelley Faye Not Afraid is a 16-year-old Native American female. She as last seen at 2pm Wednesday afternoon at the eastbound Interstate 90 rest area between Billings and Hardin near mile marker 474. The rest area is actually closed for the winter. so facilities there are not in working order for volunteers.
Search continues for missing 16-year-old in Big Horn County

Mile Marker 476 – Hardin

• Rest Area (eastbound)

Mile Marker 475 – Hardin

• Rest Area (westbound)
  Montana Interstate 90 – Interstate Rest Areas

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

خرائط ‪Google

Rest stop is 26 miles from Billings.‬‏‏

Bringing maps forward. ^^^ Thank you, Knox, for including the links.

 

[PommyMommy]

I think this part of the story is about the driver calling the family to come get her at the rest stop AFTER getting the van operable and taking off without a second thought for his passenger's safety. All five persons at the rest stop with her told conflicting stories, which is not particularly unusual. Only two of the five passengers reside in Big Horn county; while the other three returned to Yellowstone county, and it may take time before they are located; for further questioning.
The overall theme here so far is gross irresponsibility, but not necessarily the cover-up of a crime IMO

I don't think it's accurate to say that all five people told conflicting stories. Per Sheriff Big Hair:

“There’s about two or three different stories from these people in the vehicle,” Big Hair said to the television station. “They’re not all in one story. There’s different stories from a couple of them. We kind of don’t know if they’re telling the truth or not. So that’s why we want to verify.” The television station reported that some of the two men and three women in the van are from Billings.
Selena Not Afraid Missing: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

 

[Cryptic]

The overall theme here so far is gross irresponsibility, but not necessarily the cover-up of a crime IMO

I think the ratio might need to be reversed (over all theme points to a cover up, other explanations possible). The party goers have not only offered an improbable explanation(s), but their explanations are also apparently not consistent with each other.

The inconsistencies together with the improbabilities could indicate cover up. A cover up does not mean that all those in a car actually patriated in a crime (providing a crime has even been committed).

The inconsistencies in their stories are also aggravated by the fact that the events did not occur say, in the middle of a large party with a lot of intoxicating substances and a lot of comings and goings by individuals. Such a scene could yield confusion regarding details of who did what impulsively, who was present, and who did what “seemed like a good idea at the time, but was not.”

Rather, the events are stated to have occurred at 2:00 in the afternoon at a closed rest stop and to have involved a small number of people in a van.

 

[katydid23]

I don't believe there were independent sightings of Selena at the rest stop and investigators added two more locations where the van allegedly stalled as the possible area where Selena may have walked off. It seems the witness's accounts were not consistent from one interview to the next.

As search expands for missing Hardin girl, sheriff hearing 'conflicting stories' from witnesses

[from Seattle1's Post above]

For Gods sake...WTF? Now they cannot agree on where this child went missing???????

That is horrifying. Does that mean that this green vehicle is irrelevant?

 

[PommyMommy]

I don't believe there were independent sightings of Selena at the rest stop and investigators added two more locations where the van allegedly stalled as the possible area where Selena may have walked off. It seems the witness's accounts were not consistent from one interview to the next.

As search expands for missing Hardin girl, sheriff hearing 'conflicting stories' from witnesses

[from Seattle1's Post above]

For Gods sake...WTF? Now they cannot agree on where this child went missing???????

That is horrifying. Does that mean that this green vehicle is irrelevant?

Try making sense of this one...

Not Afraid left a disabled vehicle at the I-90 rest area at mile marker 474 between Billings and Hardin. She left a disabled vehicle at the rest area and was seen on foot walking into an adjacent field to get to the rest area, the release stated.
Selina Shelley Faye Not Afraid reported missing from I-90 rest area

 

[PommyMommy]

Re-posting

JAN 3, updated JAN 4, 2020
Search for Hardin girl widens as FBI agents arrive to help
[...]

Big Hair said on Friday the search also included the Toluca off-ramp, exit 484, and exit 491, which he called the washout.

The van stalled at those spots after stopping for mechanical problems at a rest area at exit 476.

Crews continued to search at the rest area, where Not Afraid was left with a woman and then reportedly walked into the field.

[...]

When another ride arrived, Not Afraid was not there.

[...]

"If I was confident, I wouldn't be having them to go back and revisit with them,” Big Hair said about his detectives. “From conflicting stories from the original interviews and then the second interview, that led us to re-interview them again. When they left the second time they stalled. She could've maybe got out there. So that's why we're checking that area, just to make sure because these are the two areas that they stopped before they got to Hardin."

[...]

They will also be looking at surveillance video at some of the stores Not Afraid may have visited in Billings on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

[...]

 

[Seajay]

Sorry. My bad. The Gazette has completely revised their article, while leaving the link the same. It didn't seem right as I composed the post, so I went to the official FBI website and searched for "C.A.R.D." and got nothing. I then searched for "CARD" and got an endless string of hits on cases related to credit card crime, so I went with the Gazette tag. The important point, though, is that those FBI folks are now on the ground and leading the search. IMO

No problem. I wasn’t blaming you. I just thought it was funny that a news outlet couldn’t get an acronym right. I was also trying to add levity by pointing it out.

 

[Seajay]

Try making sense of this one...

Not Afraid left a disabled vehicle at the I-90 rest area at mile marker 474 between Billings and Hardin. She left a disabled vehicle at the rest area and was seen on foot walking into an adjacent field to get to the rest area, the release stated.
Selina Shelley Faye Not Afraid reported missing from I-90 rest area

Yeh, she was left with a disabled vehicle at a rest area but we seen walking through a field toward a rest area. Was she at one or not?

 

[Darling136]

It says "she left a vehicle" and not "she left in a vehicle".

So she left a vehicle like she exited and was then on foot which made her abe to walk in a field

 

[Dave F.]

Yeh, she was left with a disabled vehicle at a rest area but we seen walking through a field toward a rest area. Was she at one or not?

Welcome to Montana confusion! All of the statements that the sheriff has made describe points in an area adjacent to just over ten miles of Interstate 90. The first problem is that Mile Marker 474 is not very many yards before the Fly Creek rest area, but Fly Creek road is Exit 484. They are a mile apart, The Toluca interchange, which is 3 miles past Fly Creek exit, is Exit 491. Please don't ask me to explain the numbering, because I can't, and I have lived in the region since before that stretch of highway was built. If you go to my post No. 164 in this thread, The red circle crosses the interstate highway at mile markers 474 and 491. Eeverything that media are reporting is between those points. The "washouts" follow an intermittent stream-bed diagonally from the rest stop to Old Hardin Road. It is much safer to walk parallel to that road but away from the road itself, than it would be to walk along Interstate 90.
It doesn't matter who told the truth and who lied at this point, the LE plan for several days has been to search that entire area within my red circle. I think they are primarily looking for the dogs can find traces of her passage, or other footprints in the sandy parts of the washouts. The area has already been searched visually by experienced horsemen, and with infrared drones. What they find will give LE a much better idea what transpired than to keep looking for a better answer to where she went than "I dunno."

 

[katydid23]

It says "she left a vehicle" and not "she left in a vehicle".

So she left a vehicle like she exited and was then on foot which made her abe to walk in a field

But it says she left the vehicle in the rest area and was then walking in a field towards a rest area. ?

Was there another rest area right next to the other?


She left a disabled vehicle at the rest area and was seen on foot walking into an adjacent field to get to the rest area, the release stated.

 

[Dave F.]

If you have Google Earth, copy these coordinates and paste them into the Search box. It will drop a red balloon at where she was last seen IMO
45°46'47.55"N, 108° 0'0.68"W

 

[Dave F.]

"Was there another rest area right next to the other?"

No, the next rest area eastbound is at Sheridan, Wyoming. The press release is confusing.

 

[Trudie]

So glad to have you here & your knowledge of the area!!!
Each time I come here I hope to see S has been found. Found alive & well. Idk how her mom can cope with yet another tragedy. Moo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

UPDATE (Thursday, 12:30 p.m.) — After posting to social media, Hillary RidesHorse told The Sheridan Press she informed local law enforcement that she was the person seen at the Sheridan Information Center and Rest Area Monday, not the missing Montana teen Selena Not Afraid.

After the Sheridan Police Department took the report of a potential sighting, the department obtained surveillance footage from the rest area and contacted the reporting party for follow-up, SPD Lt. Travis Koltiska said.

The search for Not Afraid has been ongoing since Jan. 1, based out of the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities can be reached with tips and information about the search at 406-665-9780. Confirmed sightings may also be disclosed to Sheridan County law enforcement.

UPDATE (Thursday, 11 a.m.) — Since this article was published Wednesday, The Sheridan Press has received reports that the young woman seen at the Sheridan Information Center and Rest Area was not Selena Not Afraid. The Press is investigating the situation and will share an update soon.
https://thesheridanpress.com/118003/potential-sighting-for-missing-montana-teen/

 

[crhedBngr]

If Selina had been drinking heavily, I fear she tripped and fell into a gully or ravine and didn't come to. This is not a judgement call against her, just an observation. We don't have all of the facts yet (obviously).

I'm just not sure what to make of the HT angle and the apparent sighting.

Still praying she is found okay.

JMVHO.

ETA: Just read @imstilla.grandma 's post - so Selina wasn't at the rest stop after all??

If Selina left in the black Nissan Pathfinder, with the red-headed man, we at least have something to work with.