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

[Teche]

I have seen several comments about sexual abuse and incest in the Amish community. Back in the 1980's, when I was in nursing school, I did a clinical rotation at an Amish birthing center in that general area. The midwife worked at several clinics as well as attended home births. She said that she saw many cases, particularly of incest. I was able to be there when my client gave birth and saw a beautiful baby being born. Later the midwife told me the baby was a dwarf. I didn't know that among other things, you measure the long bones to determine dwarfism. The midwife said she had delivered several in that general area and she also saw other genetic issues in several babies. I distinctly remember those conversations because the reality of sexual abuse, specifically incest, was so far from my preconceived idea of that culture.

MOO

Also, some of these birth defects could be more prevalent in a smaller gene pool. Common in areas where people tend to marry within their own small religious/cultural group. In my area, it’s not uncommon for Cajuns (Acadiana region) to marry other Cajuns, descendants from Acadia, Nova Scotia.

 

[roguelady]

They probably realized she wasn't there when they woke up early to start the day. They may have cows to milk at 5 am or other livestock to attend to. Daily meals need to be started. I would presume at that hour Linda would also be getting up to do her daily activities or chores. All IMO.

I believe the parents were not aware of her missing until the morning, as you have pointed out. If she had attended youth group meeting that Sunday evening, Linda would have probably arrived home very late, long after her parents were in bed (and other younger children.) So naturally the parents would not have discovered her missing until early Monday morning. My questions are: If she did NOT attend youth group that evening (and supposed to be there and bring some bars) - why didn't anyone try to find her? Wouldn't they question why she was absent? Didn't she have any close friends who expected to see her there? Or younger siblings/neighbors? Nobody saw the bars in the fridge or on the counter at home all afternoon and evening? If they did notice, didn't they wonder why she never picked them up?

Is the age 18 years for joining the older youth group? Is that why none of her younger siblings were there and so they had no idea that she didn't show up for the gathering? Meaning...was Linda new to the older gathering of youth? (18 and above)? Just a few questions I have.

 

[ReaderRabbit]

why change clothes? the clothing i've seen is modest and non descriptive. why a need to change

IMO possibilities...maybe a spill on an outfit? Freshen up, maybe? it is summer so some people don’t want to wear the same clothes all day. JMO

 

[dally_doodle]

I believe the parents were not aware of her missing until the morning, as you have pointed out. If she had attended youth group meeting that Sunday evening, Linda would have probably arrived home very late, long after her parents were in bed (and other younger children.) So naturally the parents would not have discovered her missing until early Monday morning. My questions are: If she did NOT attend youth group that evening (and supposed to be there and bring some bars) - why didn't anyone try to find her? Wouldn't they question why she was absent? Didn't she have any close friends who expected to see her there? Or younger siblings/neighbors? Nobody saw the bars in the fridge or on the counter at home all afternoon and evening? If they did notice, didn't they wonder why she never picked them up?

Is the age 18 years for joining the older youth group? Is that why none of her younger siblings were there and so they had no idea that she didn't show up for the gathering? Meaning...was Linda new to the older gathering of youth? (18 and above)? Just a few questions I have.

Nobody seeing the bars...that’s a really good question. I never thought of that.

from the beginning I have been scratching my head to figure out how they know she was last seen at Stumptown & Beechdale. Who saw her??

was her plan to grab the bars, change her clothes & immediately go straight to Youth Group? (Which according to a previous post, is held at the same place church is). If that’s the case, shouldn’t her family have expected to have seen her again....whether that was either back at church, at their home once they got home from church, or in passing while she was heading to youth group & they were heading home?

I still don’t understand why the police have been so tight lipped on locations. I think that if they are now asking the public for their help with asking them if they’ve seen something suspicious they should confirm the location of the church service youth group meeting, IMO.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

I still don’t understand why the police have been so tight lipped on locations. I think that if they are now asking the public for their help with asking them if they’ve seen something suspicious they should confirm the location of the church service youth group meeting, IMO.

I was doing some errands over that way yesterday, and the part of Beechdale that must run in front of the Stoltzfoos home was barricaded off with someone standing there, presumably to allow legitimate traffic to pass. It looked as if there might have been a few investigators there. My guess is that the police aren’t giving specific addresses and locations to prevent curious people from going there and looking around. Obviously that would be distressing to the people actually living this nightmare, and some people have no respect for private property and privacy when the Amish are involved, for whatever reason. I’m not sure they have hope at this point of preserving anything that might be evidence.

Something that occurred to me while driving in that area is that the roads are pretty narrow, often with homes or fences or trees right up close. Most areas don’t have much of a shoulder. Even though the roads look pretty straight on maps, drivers would most likely be going slowly to navigate safely. If another car were to be stopped or doing something odd or someone were to be walking along the road, drivers would have to take note of it. I hope someone can remember something from that Sunday.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Where is Linda Stoltzfoos? Police, FBI seek clues, possible witnesses to Amish teen’s disappearance

Stoltzfoos has been missing since Father’s Day.

Anyone who traveled these five Lancaster County Roads between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on June 21 is asked to contact East Lampeter Township Police:

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

Members of the community will gather Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for a prayer meeting and time of worship at the Smucker Homestead (320 N. Ronks Road, Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505), according to a Facebook post.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the East Lampeter Township Police Department at 717 291-4676 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or at tips.fbi.gov.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Nobody seeing the bars...that’s a really good question. I never thought of that.

from the beginning I have been scratching my head to figure out how they know she was last seen at Stumptown & Beechdale. Who saw her??

was her plan to grab the bars, change her clothes & immediately go straight to Youth Group? (Which according to a previous post, is held at the same place church is). If that’s the case, shouldn’t her family have expected to have seen her again....whether that was either back at church, at their home once they got home from church, or in passing while she was heading to youth group & they were heading home?

I still don’t understand why the police have been so tight lipped on locations. I think that if they are now asking the public for their help with asking them if they’ve seen something suspicious they should confirm the location of the church service youth group meeting, IMO.

Morning!

I have seen in the past LE use this same tactic. It saves them valuable time when tips come in.

Example: if someone calls in saying they saw her at a certain specific location, and it matches the specific location that they are already aware of then they know it can be a credible tip for them to follow up on quickly. They will follow up all tips, but they will prioritize others if it matches what they already know.

What LE does or doesn't do may not make sense to us, but they have good reasons why they do certain things.

I've long come to not question LEs tactics or investigation strategies in any case. They are not going to divulge it to the public or media nor should they imo.

It matters most what they are doing behind the scenes., and what they have uncovered.

I don't have any doubt they already know the answers to many things we still have questions about including the narrowing the timeline of events.

Its logical they have interviewed many who can establish if she was at certain places or not before she was reported missing. That's SOP for all investigations.

Jmho

 

[cutter99]

I understand your concern but that was 30-40 years ago... as of anything, times change. Nothing has come out from LE about concerns about sexual abuse. Nothing anybody has shared showed any evidence of that or came to that conclusion. That is very much “stereotypical” based on your personal experience 30-40 years ago.

This is not just based on this member’s personal experience. It is a well known fact that issues of psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse exist in the Amish community today and are routinely covered up.

I gave a link above to the website of a young woman, who left the Amish community and has since earned her GED, BS and Masters Degree. She fought to get out of the Amish community and did it secretly, through a group who is basically providing an Underground Railroad for those seeking to leave.

While many might believe a romanticized version of Amish life, that is exactly what it is- romanticized. <mod snip>

 

[moonriverfarm]

Have there been photos or a video of the route Linda would have walked from church to home?

 

[Hereshecomes75]

This is not just based on this member’s personal experience. It is a well known fact that issues of psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse exist in the Amish community today and are routinely covered up.

I gave a link above to the website of a young woman, who left the Amish community and has since earned her GED, BS and Masters Degree. She fought to get out of the Amish community and did it secretly, through a group who is basically providing an Underground Railroad for those seeking to leave.

While many might believe a romanticized version of Amish life, that is exactly what it is- romanticized. <mod snip>

You make some interesting points, cutter. I feel like the various Amish church districts can be so unique to themselves about what they tolerate. Some seem very closed and insular, which is a breeding ground for all sorts of abuse, I’m sure. Others seem more open and accepting of the good things they can learn from the greater culture about raising healthy families and preventing victimization.

Anyway....I’ve heard of organizations that rescue Amish women who want to leave, and I’ve toyed with the idea of that being at work in Linda’s disappearance. However, I can’t grasp that any “rescue” group wouldn’t take steps to avoid intense LE effort and media coverage by having some way of informing LE and offering proof that the “missing” individual is an adult who’s left on her own volition. Do you know if that’s a consideration when they help women leave?

 

[dally_doodle]

Have there been photos or a video of the route Linda would have walked from church to home?

Here’s a map I made quickly just to see the roads, buildings & land that is around the places of interest.

Linda Stoltzfoo - خرائطي على Google

 

[Daisy1980]

anyone know why she might be wearing a black head covering? Would this be common church attire?


LINDA STOLTZFOOS — FBI

"Linda Stoltzfoos is a member of the Amish community. She was last seen wearing a tan dress, white apron, and black head covering."

 

[cutter99]

You make some interesting points, cutter. I feel like the various Amish church districts can be so unique to themselves about what they tolerate. Some seem very closed and insular, which is a breeding ground for all sorts of abuse, I’m sure. Others seem more open and accepting of the good things they can learn from the greater culture about raising healthy families and preventing victimization.

Anyway....I’ve heard of organizations that rescue Amish women who want to leave, and I’ve toyed with the idea of that being at work in Linda’s disappearance. However, I can’t grasp that any “rescue” group wouldn’t take steps to avoid intense LE effort and media coverage by having some way of informing LE and offering proof that the “missing” individual is an adult who’s left on her own volition. Do you know if that’s a consideration when they help women leave?

My understanding is they leave the decision to make contact up to the individual leaving. It is the individual’s life and they need to be in charge of it. That is really the premise of leaving the Amish community- to have control over one’s own life and not be controlled by a religious group.

Remember, these are people who are of legal age and can give consent. They are offered assistance so they can learn how to function outside an Amish community. They are offered a safe landing until they can get on their own two feet, and many people participating in this process as former Amish themselves.

Here is one of them.

Helping fellow Amish transition out of that life

Heck, even Lebanon Levi, from the un-reality show “Amish Mafia” speaks about people leaving the church and Amish lifestyle in his book. Part of his decision to leave was based on abuse he experienced himself and witnessed happening to others.

Amish Confidential by "Lebanon" Levi Stoltzfus

 

[bombardier]

anyone know why she might be wearing a black head covering? Would this be common church attire?


LINDA STOLTZFOOS — FBI

"Linda Stoltzfoos is a member of the Amish community. She was last seen wearing a tan dress, white apron, and black head covering."

i think its typical for Amish women, at least where I live! They likely mean a head-covering like one of these. In her picture on post #1 she is wearing a white head covering.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

My understanding is they leave the decision to make contact up to the individual leaving. It is the individual’s life and they need to be in charge of it. That is really the premise of leaving the Amish community- to have control over one’s own life and not be controlled by a religious group.

I get that, but you’d think you wouldn’t let everyone guessing as to what happened to you, except as a giant middle finger to everyone.

 

[cutter99]

I get that, but you’d think you wouldn’t let everyone guessing as to what happened to you, except as a giant middle finger to everyone.

But who is to say, especially if you have experienced abuse and fear not being able to get out?

 

[GordianKnot]

I get that, but you’d think you wouldn’t let everyone guessing as to what happened to you, except as a giant middle finger to everyone.

I'm really not seeing any indicators in this case that would support a voluntarily missing scenario.

While it's possible, I think it's unlikely that LS has run away.

LE has not reported that anything else was missing from the home, e.g., food, cash, any of LS's clothing other than what she was wearing, etc. If she had wanted to run away, she would have likely taken some provisions with her.

Also, given the media coverage her disappearance has received, someone would likely have seen her at some point and reported that sighting to LE.

LE's actions here don't line up with a voluntary missing case, either.

FBI coming on board to assist in the search efforts doesn't point toward a situation where LS is believed to have gone voluntarily missing.

There's no evidence we've heard from anyone that LS appeared to be unhappy...if LE had gotten any sort of inkling from anyone that she had expressed being unhappy with the Amish lifestyle and/or expressed a desire to leave, we'd be hearing and seeing very different things from LE right now.

LS being voluntarily missing would be the best case scenario.

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing anything that leads me to conclude best case scenario is the most likely scenario here.

JMO.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Whereon Beechdale is the Stoltzfoos home?

 

[squareandrabbet]

Would the fact that her older sister and her husband had left the faith have any significance or bearing on this?

I'm really not seeing any indicators in this case that would support a voluntarily missing scenario.

While it's possible, I think it's unlikely that LS has run away.

LE has not reported that anything else was missing from the home, e.g., food, cash, any of LS's clothing other than what she was wearing, etc. If she had wanted to run away, she would have likely taken some provisions with her.

Also, given the media coverage her disappearance has received, someone would likely have seen her at some point and reported that sighting to LE.

LE's actions here don't line up with a voluntary missing case, either.

FBI coming on board to assist in the search efforts doesn't point toward a situation where LS is believed to have gone voluntarily missing.

There's no evidence we've heard from anyone that LS appeared to be unhappy...if LE had gotten any sort of inkling from anyone that she had expressed being unhappy with the Amish lifestyle and/or expressed a desire to leave, we'd be hearing and seeing very different things from LE right now.

LS being voluntarily missing would be the best case scenario.

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing anything that leads me to conclude best case scenario is the most likely scenario here.

JMO.

yeah, if/since Linda has a sister who has left the faith and gone modern, I feel as if she would figure out a way to reach out to that sister first, if she meant to leave voluntarily (if her other siblings don’t know, maybe older sister has surreptitious or even openly peer friends still in the community, who could pass on her contact details).

 

[GraceG]

anyone know why she might be wearing a black head covering? Would this be common church attire?


LINDA STOLTZFOOS — FBI

"Linda Stoltzfoos is a member of the Amish community. She was last seen wearing a tan dress, white apron, and black head covering."

The black head covering is typically worn by women who are not yet married.