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

[AmandaReckonwith]

I've updated the Case Archive with the news.

Selina Not Afraid -MT- by amanda reckonwith

Cellphone, try this, and scroll:
Selina (goes by Selena) Not Afraid

 

[mickey2942]

Odd, my girls don't leave the house without their backpacks, especially going to Billings.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Answering from upthread, there are no roads near where she was found.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 21, 2020
Hypothermia Suspected in Death of Missing Montana Girl, 16, Accidentally Left Behind at Rest Stop
[...]

Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy, but they suspect Not Afraid died as a result of hypothermia, Undersheriff Eric Winburn tells PEOPLE.

“We won’t rule it out until we know for sure,” he says, adding than when she was last seen, Not Afraid was not properly dressed for outside weather conditions.

Facilities at the rural rest stop off I-90 midway between Billings and Hardin were locked because authorities turn off the water to prevent pipes from freezing, he says.

[...]

... She and others got out and wandered off while the driver attempted to restart the vehicle, says Winburn, but when the driver did so, he had to quickly push the pedal to the floor to keep the vehicle moving.

Those outside of the vehicle had been told to get inside beforehand, and when the driver pulled away, he was aware Not Afraid and another girl weren’t in the van. Knowing this, the driver called for someone to retrieve the two girls, but when the second driver reached the rest stop, only one of the girls was there, says Winburn.

Not Afraid had “tried to convince the other girl to climb the fence with her,” he says, but that girl stayed behind. “The one girl said (Not Afraid) just started heading out towards the trees.”

[...]

 

[momrids6]

smdh- something better change after the autopsy...

 

[rkendmar]

Hypothermia Suspected in Death of Missing Montana Girl, 16, Accidentally Left Behind at Rest Stop

1) "authorities found her body less than a mile away from the highway rest stop where she’d been left accidentally after the van in which she was riding broke down." - Big Horn County Undersheriff Eric Winburn

2) "Not Afraid had “tried to convince the other girl to climb the fence with her,” he says, but that girl stayed behind. “The one girl said (Not Afraid) just started heading out towards the trees.” - Undersheriff Eric Winburn

3) “Loss of a loved one in such a tragic way has no prejudice,” he said. “Why should we hold any prejudice against each other, when this is a reality we all may face.” - The teen’s uncle, Crow Tribal Chairman A.J. Not Afraid

"You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows"`

 

[lonetraveler]

Just popping in to see how it's going, ilI see the great Wall of silence remains as impenetrable as always. Would it be the same if it was one of there sons was missing?
This is not a snippy remark, I am genuinely asking. Some communities will go the extra mile for their boys. And I don't just mean indigenous communities I have seen it in small town communities too.

I totally understand where you are coming from. There are many areas and cultures where a female is not as valuable as a young male. That is indeed the case.

 

[lonetraveler]

I agree that there are a lot of strange things to this story. It very well may be just be a tragic accident, but....

Her "losing" her phone seems to be an odd coincidence.

Did she have an overnight bag still in the van? Were they planning on spending the night?

So these teenagers were partying with adults?

Is there evidence that she left Billings alive? Can the recorded time of the snapchat video be verified?

Was she wearing the same clothes as the night before?

The girl in the ditch with no shoes.....

Was her body found at all close to any drivable roads? If so, and although unlikely, her body could have been moved to this location recently.

OK, it is time for me to admit that I'm confused about the girl found in the ditch. I've tried to catch up quickly but obviously I've missed something. Is this girl the same girl who was left at the rest stop with Selena?

 

[lonetraveler]

Does anyone know if this rest stop was a rest stop with a building with restrooms or was it just a pull off beside the highway?

ETA: Never mind I just found out that the building was locked because the water had been cut off so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

 

[lonetraveler]

I’m so sorry to see this news - wishing those that left her behind are held to some accountability
JMO

It does seem to me, at least, that if you left a person out in the cold with no one around and no place close by for the person to go to seek help and they froze to death, that you would be held accountable.

 

[rkendmar]

OK, it is time for me to admit that I'm confused about the girl found in the ditch. I've tried to catch up quickly but obviously I've missed something. Is this girl the same girl who was left at the rest stop with Selena?

Yes, this was the same "girl."
However, she was a grown woman in her 20s...not a girl.
Selina was 16 and was getting a ride home with 4 or 5 adults in the van.
The 20-something woman who was also 'accidentally' left behind, was found in a ditch ~2 miles away from the rest stop.
It is unfortunate that this woman did not share the information (that she saw Salina cross a fence and walk toward the trees) during the 19+ days of searching for Selina.
It was reported that she "couldn't remember" what had happened and that Selina had walked into a field.

 

[Seattle1]

Does anyone know if this rest stop was a rest stop with a building with restrooms or was it just a pull off beside the highway?

ETA: Never mind I just found out that the building was locked because the water had been cut off so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

Msn photos depict restroom facility which is corroborated with report above that water was turned off at locked facility to avoid freezing.

 

[lonetraveler]

Yes, this was the same "girl."
However, she was a grown woman in her 20s...not a girl.
Selina was 16 and was getting a ride home with 4 or 5 adults in the van.
The 20-something woman who was also 'accidentally' left behind, was found in a ditch ~2 miles away from the rest stop.
It is unfortunate that this woman did not share the information (that she saw Salina cross a fence and walk toward the trees) during the 19+ days of searching for Selina.
It was reported that she "couldn't remember" what had happened and that Selina had walked into a field.

Thank you. Wow, she was two miles away from the rest stop, in a ditch. She should feel lucky she is alive and yes, it is so unfortunate that she did not offer the information of what direction Selena took. So sad.

 

[Seattle1]

Thank you. Wow, she was two miles away from the rest stop, in a ditch. She should feel lucky she is alive and yes, it is so unfortunate that she did not offer the information of what direction Selena took. So sad.

Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. I think I’d be leery to accept the account that Selena attempted to get ditch girl to jump fence when she doesn’t recall how she ended up in the ditch herself.

MOO

 

[catch_22]

So did the "mother" in follow car pick up ditch-woman? It seems like she could have easily driven past her if she was expecting her to be at the rest stop. I agree that she is lucky to be alive.

I wonder if when those two ladies realized that they had been left at the rest stop, they panicked because they didn't have a phone, and didn't know that someone else was on their way to pick them up (alledgedly). So they thought that they had to walk for help? It seems surprising that they would 1. Split up. And 2. Wander off away from the highway.

 

[mickey2942]

So did the "mother" in follow car pick up ditch-woman? It seems like she could have easily driven past her if she was expecting her to be at the rest stop. I agree that she is lucky to be alive.

I wonder if when those two ladies realized that they had been left at the rest stop, they panicked because they didn't have a phone, and didn't know that someone else was on their way to pick them up (alledgedly). So they thought that they had to walk for help? It seems surprising that they would 1. Split up. And 2. Wander off away from the highway.

I have to say, that I would have been in high panic mode, if folks had driven off and left me in the middle of nowhere. Walk to get help? There is nothing there. Maybe 10, 20 miles to find a house? I can't even imagine being with people who would do something like that.

 

[rkendmar]

So did the "mother" in follow car pick up ditch-woman? It seems like she could have easily driven past her if she was expecting her to be at the rest stop. I agree that she is lucky to be alive.

I wonder if when those two ladies realized that they had been left at the rest stop, they panicked because they didn't have a phone, and didn't know that someone else was on their way to pick them up (alledgedly). So they thought that they had to walk for help? It seems surprising that they would 1. Split up. And 2. Wander off away from the highway.

"Ditch-woman" was picked up by the "mother."
"Ditch-woman" had a phone as she was the one who recorded the Snapchat of the activity during the time at the rest stop.
Perhaps we will know more now that "ditch-woman" appears to have regained some memory of the incident.

 

[lonetraveler]

"Ditch-woman" was picked up by the "mother."
"Ditch-woman" had a phone as she was the one who recorded the Snapchat of the activity during the time at the rest stop.
Perhaps we will know more now that "ditch-woman" appears to have regained some memory of the incident.

Just hope she doesn't have "selective" memory.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Reading the "ditch woman" "A" lines in the article, it appears as though the Undersheriff is the one who told that to the reporter.
Not "A" herself.

ETA:
Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy, but they suspect Not Afraid died as a result of hypothermia, Undersheriff Eric Winburn tells PEOPLE.

“We won’t rule it out until we know for sure,” he says, adding than when she was last seen, Not Afraid was not properly dressed for outside weather conditions.

Facilities at the rural rest stop off I-90 midway between Billings and Hardin were locked because authorities turn off the water to prevent pipes from freezing, he says.

Not Afraid was traveling home to Hardin with friends from a New Year’s party in Billings, about 50 miles away, when their van broke down at about 2 p.m. on January 1. She and others got out and wandered off while the driver attempted to restart the vehicle, says Winburn, but when the driver did so, he had to quickly push the pedal to the floor to keep the vehicle moving.

Those outside of the vehicle had been told to get inside beforehand, and when the driver pulled away, he was aware Not Afraid and another girl weren’t in the van. Knowing this, the driver called for someone to retrieve the two girls, but when the second driver reached the rest stop, only one of the girls was there, says Winburn.

Not Afraid had “tried to convince the other girl to climb the fence with her,” he says, but that girl stayed behind. “The one girl said (Not Afraid) just started heading out towards the trees.”

Edited again to add that link: Hypothermia Suspected in Death of Missing Montana Girl, 16, Accidentally Left Behind at Rest Stop

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

This is kind of a big deal.