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

[cutter99]

Another possibility I did see from the Google Maps view it there are at least 4 manure pits in the area. A manure pit it a concrete holding tank, the size of a small pond, that manure is pumped into and held until the pit is full and large equipment is used to pump the manure out and spread it on fields as fertilizer. Manure pits can be dangerous, just like silos, due to the gases that can build up in them. They also develop a crust on the top, that can be strong enough to hold a person or even a cow, but that crust can also give away, much like ice breaking during a thaw.

There is no good reason ever for a person to be on a manure pit from a safety standpoint, and I can’t see why Linda would be, especially if visiting a farm for a Sunday church service.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

Love your detailed ag info, cutter99! How would they search a slurry pit? With all the early searches of the area, there was never any information if they did or didn’t check them out. It would be the job for the guy with the short straw, but it seems to me like something they’d need to rule out. Even if a rational adult wouldn’t be around a slurry pit voluntarily during a church service, it would be a place to discard a body or evidence, IMO.

 

[cutter99]

Love your detailed ag info, cutter99! How would they search a slurry pit? With all the early searches of the area, there was never any information if they did or didn’t check them out. It would be the job for the guy with the short straw, but it seems to me like something they’d need to rule out. Even if a rational adult wouldn’t be around a slurry pit voluntarily during a church service, it would be a place to discard a body or evidence, IMO.

To search a pit thoroughly, it would have to be emptied in my opinion. You would be able to see a break in the crust if it had been looked at immediately after Linda disappeared, but not all pits develop a hard crust.

Many pits these days do have fencing or barriers of some sort around them, but not all do. It is difficult to see from a satellite view whether or not there are any barriers around the pits you can see.

 

[Trackergd]

To search a pit thoroughly, it would have to be emptied in my opinion. You would be able to see a break in the crust if it had been looked at immediately after Linda disappeared, but not all pits develop a hard crust.

Many pits these days do have fencing or barriers of some sort around them, but not all do. It is difficult to see from a satellite view whether or not there are any barriers around the pits you can see.

Hate to admit it, but I have special ground search rods for this.... They are steel rods of various lengths with a "T" handle on top that you push into the ground to locate "objects".

 

[cutter99]

Hate to admit it, but I have special ground search rods for this.... They are steel rods of various lengths with a "T" handle on top that you push into the ground to locate "objects".

I’m not sure that ground search rods would be the best way to search a manure pit as it is not something that should be stood on, plus pits are typically a minimum of 8’ deep. Another factor is that pit are extremely dangerous as far as gases are concerned. They can kill people extremely quickly. There was an accident in Maryland a few years back where a father and two sons were overcome and killed by gases. One succumbed first, and the other two succumbed in attempted rescues.

Missing father, sons found dead in farm's manure pit

There is also a semi-permanent residual at the bottom of the pit, and in order to search that you would have to empty it.

Here is some generalized information on size and volume of manure pits.

Storage Tanks for Liquid Livestock Manure

 

[Hereshecomes75]

I would very much like to know whether Linda was "last observed at a farm" (per the FBI poster) indoors or outdoors. It's odd that all LE talk of her walking on the road, or outdoors, has apparently ceased. It makes me think she wandered away from the room(s) or area at the farm where the church service was being held ... but then what? Was someone from either inside or outside the community lying in wait on the property for a lone person (target) to step away from the others attending worship?

Do Amish homes generally have indoor plumbing, or are there outhouses in use for bathroom purposes? If during the service Linda stepped away inconspicuously to attend to personal needs, that could be why the last-seen information is so vague - the rest of the congregation knew she had been there, but then at some point while they were worshipping and not focussed on the other humans present, she slipped away/outside - and never came back.

The above is totally speculation, not even an opinion here.

Janewall, good points. Usually Amish homes have indoor plumbing. I don’t know how this particular home is set up for church, but she might have had to leave the main area to use a restroom during the service.

Maybe that would involve going upstairs or to another section of the home. Again, I have no idea about this particular house, but some Amish houses are large and are a mix of an older house and new additions jutting off here and there, or a main family house and a little adjoining place for elderly parents with a separate outside entrance but accessible from inside the main house as well. So it’s not impossible that she could have moved to a more private area of the house (because who wants to risk having a whole church hear you pee?) and been accosted by someone during the service.

After the actual service, there’s usually a meal. I don’t know if that was the case that day, since I know COVID has altered some of the typical routines. The day in question was a beautiful day, so I imagine after the service there’d be people both inside and outside the house. That no one may have actually seen Linda leave never seemed like a big deal to me, given the flurry of activity going on and the fact that an 18 year old walking back to her home essentially in the neighborhood would not have been a big deal. Amish parents don’t helicopter. Amish children leave school at 14 (and often have walked there and back the whole time) and work responsible jobs, so a quick walk back to the house isn’t going to be noteworthy.

I’m certainly not going to try to pin down where church was held and examine the property, but that would help generate some possibilities.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

Hmm. I’ve probably watched too many movies—feel free to tell me that—but I’m thinking about the picture of the Amish men sitting by a phone at Linda’s parents’ shop or barn. They said in the initial days the phone was attended around the clock in case Linda were to call. Now I’m wondering if they were also thinking there might have been a call with a ransom demand. Perhaps they were pretty certain from the beginning that this was an abduction. I’m crazy, right?

 

[GordianKnot]

GK....Thread ban forever?

And who thinks LS was kidnapped? Hands please.

BBM:

In answer to your second question, I think she was abducted v. kidnapped.
I say that because I don't think she was taken for ransom.

I think this will turn out to be either a sexually motivated or a hate crime.

The evil creep who abducted and murdered a Mennonite young woman recently appears to have done so because he had a grudge against the Mennonite community. The perp in that other case was raised Mennonite.

I don't think we can rule out out the possibility of a similar scenario here.

Whoever caused LS's disappearance might be an Amish or former Amish person harboring a grudge and/or feelings of deep animosity toward the Amish community.

JMO.

 

[Lusitana]

I have a hard time believing her parents would ask for LE help if there was even a slight possibility that she left on her own accord.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

GordianKnot, I believe as you do that whatever happened to Linda probably happened because she is Amish. So definitely it could be someone with rage against the community because they are or were a part of it.

But in that vein, even though it’s less likely than your scenario, I could see an outsider being motivated and emboldened in today’s climate to want to cause harm to the Amish community. I do NOT want to get political, but so many activist groups have an axe to grind with the Amish. I’ve been on crime boards and newspaper discussion groups since JonBenet was killed, and I’ve seen some vitriolic and irrational hatred directed at the Amish over the years.

 

[Rosiebones]

GordianKnot, I believe as you do that whatever happened to Linda probably happened because she is Amish. So definitely it could be someone with rage against the community because they are or were a part of it.

But in that vein, even though it’s less likely than your scenario, I could see an outsider being motivated and emboldened in today’s climate to want to cause harm to the Amish community. I do NOT want to get political, but so many activist groups have an axe to grind with the Amish. I’ve been on crime boards and newspaper discussion groups since JonBenet was killed, and I’ve seen some vitriolic and irrational hatred directed at the Amish over the years.

When I first read on WS about this case, I immediately thought of Sasha and copycat crime. The time frame is so close and her case so similar. A disappearance without witnesses. If it happened once when no one really speculated that was the motive, it could certainly happen again. The LE release here indicated that they were looking "outside of Pennsylvania". It also occurs to me that LE would be aware of Sasha's situation. MOO MOO MOO

 

[oviedo]

BBM:

In answer to your second question, I think she was abducted v. kidnapped.
I say that because I don't think she was taken for ransom.

I think this will turn out to be either a sexually motivated or a hate crime.

The evil creep who abducted and murdered a Mennonite young woman recently appears to have done so because he had a grudge against the Mennonite community. The perp in that other case was raised Mennonite.

I don't think we can rule out out the possibility of a similar scenario here.

Whoever caused LS's disappearance might be an Amish or former Amish person harboring a grudge and/or feelings of deep animosity toward the Amish community.

JMO.

I'm thinking along these lines as well. It would be a miracle if she did choose to walk away from this life and is somewhere safe and happy... but I don't think so.
JMO

 

[jvb]

Love your detailed ag info, cutter99! How would they search a slurry pit? With all the early searches of the area, there was never any information if they did or didn’t check them out. It would be the job for the guy with the short straw, but it seems to me like something they’d need to rule out. Even if a rational adult wouldn’t be around a slurry pit voluntarily during a church service, it would be a place to discard a body or evidence, IMO.

These types of comments, and the entire case is reminding me of the Mollie Tibbits case.

 

[jondaba]

Linda owned a smartphone? Or did you mean “if”? She didn’t own a cellphone, according to family/news reports.

You are correct. I accidentally omitted “if”
I’ve no knowledge.

 

[TwoBlueJays]

Two Blue Jays,
Then are you saying the FBI made an assumption she was abducted?

No. They don't do assumptions. The poster has fairly standard language for a missing persons notice. They're pursuing all avenues, I would think.
MOO

BBM:

In answer to your second question, I think she was abducted v. kidnapped.
I say that because I don't think she was taken for ransom.

I think this will turn out to be either a sexually motivated or a hate crime.

The evil creep who abducted and murdered a Mennonite young woman recently appears to have done so because he had a grudge against the Mennonite community. The perp in that other case was raised Mennonite.

I don't think we can rule out out the possibility of a similar scenario here.

Whoever caused LS's disappearance might be an Amish or former Amish person harboring a grudge and/or feelings of deep animosity toward the Amish community.

JMO.

Then it would have been on the road, on her way home. There's no way a stranger would get close enough, e.g. in the yard, in the house, to grab her. Good thinking about the slurry pit - it's the one 'on farm' place I thought of that works to hide her - if she sank. But I assume LE searchers and/or FBI had the poles to probe. The creek in the area seems too shallow to hide a person.
My guess is still abduction and within five miles of the farm. This assumes she left the service and went home to get the lemon bars and was accosted on the way there or back.

What are the chances anyone has a camera on the property pointed at the road in any of the search areas?

ETA MOO

 

[TwoBlueJays]

GordianKnot, I believe as you do that whatever happened to Linda probably happened because she is Amish. So definitely it could be someone with rage against the community because they are or were a part of it.

But in that vein, even though it’s less likely than your scenario, I could see an outsider being motivated and emboldened in today’s climate to want to cause harm to the Amish community. I do NOT want to get political, but so many activist groups have an axe to grind with the Amish. I’ve been on crime boards and newspaper discussion groups since JonBenet was killed, and I’ve seen some vitriolic and irrational hatred directed at the Amish over the years.

Curious: what 'activist groups have an axe to grind with the Amish'? Source for that? Or is it your opinion?

 

[CuriousQuiet1]

No. They don't do assumptions. The poster has fairly standard language for a missing persons notice. They're pursuing all avenues, I would think.
MOO

I assumed it was boilerplate wording but then I read a dozen more FBI missing persons posters and they are all different. Some offer rewards, some don't. The reward amounts are not always the same. Some say they are looking for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible without mentioning finding the missing person. Some are offering rewards to find the missing person but make no mention of "arrest and conviction of person responsible". I don't know how much to read into the exact wording but it seems they are very deliberate about the statement.

 

[Spartygirl]

So Stumptown RD to Bird-In-Hand is 2.2 Miles or 4 Minute drive.
There are some businesses around and in-between the area.
Since this is Amish country, I can bet they do NOT have survellience cameras at these businesses, but It would be nice to find out there is one or two.
Also, if any employees of these businesses were around there at that time themselves, or if they saw anything.

 

[Spartygirl]

LINDA STOLTZFOOS

OK--so this article says she was LAST SEEN at a farm
The other articles say she Disappeared WHILE WALKING HOME FROM CHURCH"
I wish we had some clarification JMO

Also, did I miss it or has there been any info on whether or not any family members were with her at the church services ?? Or were they all home and she went to church by herself ??

I realize these questions may not matter as the fact is, she is missing.

However, for me, it would help to know the answers, IMO for trying to figure out what happened, Where it actually happened, and the "WHO" if there is one. JMO and been thinking about this case all day.

(EBM to add article stating she was "WALKING" when last seen.)
Search continues for missing Amish woman

 

[Spartygirl]

Maybe it's my suspicious nature, but I have wondered the same. It's the last place she was seen. Brings so many questions to mind. Did anyone leave church services at the same time as Linda? If so, what direction did they take? Who may have been unaccounted for several hours? Did anyone have scratches or bruises shortly after Linda was reported missing? Has any member of the congregation suddenly left town?

THIS ^^^^ All the above.
I just posted some questions I have regarding the exact location of "Last Seen"
Who was she with at Church ? Family? Friends?
IF alone, where was Family during church services?
Don't most families go to church together ??
I have a ton of questions like the ones above.
Patience is a virtue, however, I tend to be a slightly inpatient person when it comes to missing people.