WA WA - Maureen Kelly, 19, Skamania County, 10 June 2013

[GateKeeper]

Black bears have been very active in the area lately, in mating season. There has been a sighting in a residential neighborhood near me and another hit by a car at an off-ramp of I-205 just north of Vancouver. My garden partner on Whitney Heichel's garden saw a bear when he was out working on the garden recently, east of Sandy, Oregon.

Not sure it's been brought up here or not but aside from having arranged for someone to pick her up in a car where her trail ended at the pavement, perhaps she had a bicycle stashed and made her "getaway" alone. I don't personally think this is what happened, I lean more towards being prey for a cougar or bear.

So hoping she turns up alive.

We've been having "wolf problems" here in the Cascades. (I personally dont see why they are a "problem"..but thats my opinion.)
The weather has been super crappy here for the last 4 days.Cold and wet.
I truly hope we get some more info on Maureen. Good news would be awesome!

 

[Seajay]

it worries me that her trail ends on a public road.

Me, too. Because usually, can't dogs track someone on a road??? Doesn't the human scent stay in the area, regardless of the terrain? The dogs seemed to be able to track her through the woods, and through a body of water, then lost her on a road. This leads me to believe at this point, she got in a car and left the area.

Whether that was pre-planned or spur of the moment is unknown. I don't think she's in the area any longer. IMO

 

[WI1987]

Still no luck in finding Maureen/Anu Kelly?

My guesses:
1) She was abducted.
or
2) She used this as a cover to "escape" and start over somewhere else.

I am leaning towards my second theory. Either way I don't think she is still in the woods wandering around naked.

 

[LittleMissContrary]

I know it seems naive but I think she is still alive in that forest somewhere.

The one thing I don't understand, is how the friends she was camping with knew that she had left the camp site naked when supposedly they weren't there at the time she left.

 

[Danaya]

I know it seems naive but I think she is still alive in that forest somewhere.

The one thing I don't understand, is how the friends she was camping with knew that she had left the camp site naked when supposedly they weren't there at the time she left.

How could she have survived this long? No clean water, no food, no clothing... it has been super cold in WA the past week. Not to mention all of the wild life that could easily have taken her. It's rough terrain, there is just no way she could be walking all of this time; a search dog split his paw open and a volunteer sprained their ankle. It's very possible wild life got her and sadly, her remains may be very limited.

These woods are vast. Sometimes, people get lost in the woods or in other thick bush and are never found. Sometimes they are found years later. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, really. And there's no way animals would leave her remains alone... no way... just thinking aloud here!

As for her scent ending at a road, scent dogs are by no means always accurate. Just because it followed the scent from a creek to a road, doesn't necessarily mean her trail ended at the road. I think it's possible she may have drowned in the creek. If she were trying to wash herself, clean a wound or get water to drink, she may have fallen in. That would be compounded if she were under the influence of drugs. The creek needs to be searched somehow.

 

[cluciano63]

She could be alive in the woods only if she had a camp set up in advance, with food, blankets, firewood, tent, etc., and surely if so, she would have been found.

If the dogs are right, it sounds like she got into a vehicle at the road. Whether planned, or she accepted a ride, who knows? I felt like she had a lot of friends she loved and wonder if she would allow them to worry about her, if she had a plan and took off. I know people do this all the time, but she seemed very social on FB.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Bumping for Maureen. I hope you are somewhere safe and warm tonight.

 

[LittleMissContrary]

Yes I know it seems impossible and I am usually very pragmatic. But for whatever reason I think she may still be alive out there.

Again, how do we know she left naked if no one saw her leave? When I go camping or traveling with people, I don‘t have any idea about how many clothes they've brought with them. Just because she was barefoot does not mean she was naked. I would just like someone to explain how they came to believe she was naked.

 

[northxnorthwest]

She has been missing over 2 weeks, no new news? :/

 

[findinganatta]

Yes I know it seems impossible and I am usually very pragmatic. But for whatever reason I think she may still be alive out there.

Again, how do we know she left naked if no one saw her leave? When I go camping or traveling with people, I don‘t have any idea about how many clothes they've brought with them. Just because she was barefoot does not mean she was naked. I would just like someone to explain how they came to believe she was naked.

Her friends apparently knew she had a fanny pack and what its contents were. If that is true (as was reported in virtually every story about this case), I would imagine they were aware that she was naked because they were present when she went into the forest. Not sure who these friends are or why they were described as "acquaintances" in some stories, but assuming they are not involved in any foul play here, I would assume they are probably trustworthy. I don't know why else they would claim she was naked.

Until just now, I hadn't even thought of the possibility of foul play on the part of the friends/acquaintances who were with her at the campsite (if it's already been mentioned, I may have missed it in the thread). But based on what is reported, they don't sound like they are guilty of anything other than maybe bad judgement. They reported her missing very early on, and their story seems to perfectly match the facts about her desire to go on this spiritual quest.

Has anyone heard any of those specific friends (who witnessed her enter the woods) interviewed or quoted?

 

[ozgirl70]

Is there any direct evidence that links Maureen with the campsite? Anything that proves she was there?

:moo::moo:

Never mind... I remember now reading that the dogs tracked her through the bush to the road.

Excuse me and carry on.

 

[Seajay]

Maureen has been gone so long already, considering she was naked and had no defense against the elements. I'm praying she's ok and will be home soon.

 

[gngr~snap]

Naked... in the woods? Makes no sense! Bugs, briars, branches... periods?? I dunno I guess some women can handle it. Not me.

I have a friend that went skiing in Colorado naked... but for her it was for the attention. Too bad she was all bloody from a fall when she arrived for her attention seeking attempt. Hard cold icy snow is sharp!
Alas this is summer.. back to bugs...
Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

She could be alive in the woods only if she had a camp set up in advance, with food, blankets, firewood, tent, etc., and surely if so, she would have been found.

If the dogs are right, it sounds like she got into a vehicle at the road. Whether planned, or she accepted a ride, who knows? I felt like she had a lot of friends she loved and wonder if she would allow them to worry about her, if she had a plan and took off. I know people do this all the time, but she seemed very social on FB.

BBM.

This may have been mentioned all ready, so sorry in advance if it was...but did any of those friends set up a Facebook "Find Anu" page for her? (If not, it could be that a few of them know by now she's okay--have any of them been mentioned as actively searching in MSM lately?)

I'm leaning towards the re-invent, myself. For one thing, she had a $500 fine to pay for the drug test fail just prior to her disappearance; for a teen, especially, that's a lot of money to have to come up with. I've never gotten it clear from reading just how the friends knew so many particulars about what she had with her, what she wasn't wearing, etc.--yet weren't able to join her b/c she 'left without them.' Also, the scent for the dogs ending at the road...

 

[LittleMissContrary]

Her friend said they were talking about going with her but when they got back to camp she had already left. I will go back and try to find the exact quote. I don't suspect her friends of doing anything wrong, I am just trying to figure out who saw her leave naked.

 

[findinganatta]

Her friend said they were talking about going with her but when they got back to camp she had already left. I will go back and try to find the exact quote. I don't suspect her friends of doing anything wrong, I am just trying to figure out who saw her leave naked.

Did those two friends who were interviewed on the TV news say that they were the ones who dropped her off or last saw her? I got a different impression from it. I thought they were saying that she left without warning them (with other people she knew), even though they had planned to go on the spiritual journey together.

My impression was that whoever reported that they saw her naked going into the forest has not been interviewed by the media, and that that info just came from the police interviews. But maybe I'm wrong?

 

[findinganatta]

Has anyone heard any news at all about Maureen Kelly? I'm not finding anything through Google. The story just dropped off the radar... I guess that means absolutely no progress has been made.

 

[jmcgladr]

Has anyone heard any news at all about Maureen Kelly? I'm not finding anything through Google. The story just dropped off the radar... I guess that means absolutely no progress has been made.

I was just reading about Michelle Knight, the oldest of the Cleveland kidnapping victims. When she disappeared at age 20, she was pretty much immediately considered a runaway, and there was very little publicity or law enforcement follow-up of her disappearance (unlike the other 2 victims, who were younger when they disappeared). It makes me sad to think that something like that may have happened to Maureen as well. Why is it that when a 17 year old girl goes missing, everyone cares so much more than when a 20 year old young woman goes missing? I would be so disheartened if I were one of her family members.

 

[KeepThemOnTheRadar]

There is a Find Anu Facebook page to those inquiring. I don't know who runs it, but I know her friends post there. One young lady posted video of them together. You will see some pretty mean comments from people giving unwanted opinions on a support page. I'm really sick of how high and mighty the casual observer can become over news like this. One, all we know for sure is there is a possibility she went off on her own. Two, even if she did make a very unwise decision, she is a human being and her loved ones miss her.

 

[northxnorthwest]

So sad, I too have heard NOTHING new.

Her photo does NOT appear on this Washington State Patrol page with other missing adults in WA, http://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/misadult.php

But she is listed according to this search engine which should be up to date and has more missing people listed then the other site (other site may be listings for more "serious" disappearances - which IMO hers is)
http://www.waspc.org/mp/missing.php

If LE was able to make contact with her and she did in fact say she was "safe but doesn't want to return to old life/doesn't want family to know" she wouldn't be in the database anymore right? Legally you can just leave if your an adult.

Sometimes I feel like WA doesn't vigorously investigate cases with people who've "wandered off", not sure why, reminds me a little of Marizela Perez, she vanished into thin air too (but there was suspicion bc of video that she was going to kill herself). Her body was never found and there were some "sightings" (not confirmed) at a bus station and her computer was logged into a week or so after she was gone. I think one park was searched but nothing found, last ping was in the middle of the city! If she had killed herself in the park I believe they would have found her but you never know.


I really hope Maureen is safe and happy on an exciting journey.....