Found Deceased NV - Madelyn Lingenfelter, 19, Reno, 19 Sept 2018

The way this case is being silenced is disheartening. I am local. No plea from the family, no more news coverage, and LE silent.

I personally am leaning toward abduction. They searched a huge radius with our local Sar, who are amazing in which the find and recover missing people successfully after even avalanches in Tahoe. Heat detecting helecopters, dogs and sonar. I believe if she harmed herself they would have found her. I have ultimate faith in that team. I also believe a runaway takes their vehicle. Also, they never listed her as a runaway. She is a missing person. Her car was pinged at that location on that Wednesday. Her car was not located till that Friday. Her last sightening was in her own passenger seat which is suspicious to me. They did not find her phone as someone stated earlier in the thread.

I think it would help if members here, would message and start bugging Reno police dept on reno police department on Facebook, or email at askrpd@reno.gov , as the lack of concern locally, is disturbing. They do respond, I just believe more people need to show concern.
 
Gypsyblue, thank you!! It's very helpful to hear from someone who is right there, and further, who is confirming our observations about lack of communication. One would hope that if the police thought there was any chance Maddy was abducted, they would be more aggressive about publicizing her disappearance. When a young lady named Morgan Harrington disappeared from a concert nine years ago, her family was relentless in looking for her. No one had a clue as to where she was, not her friends, classmates, nor family members. It took three months for her remains to be found, but during those three months, she was constantly on the news, her parents were putting missing posters all over Charlottesville, and much of the public was aware that she was being looked for. Now I look at Maddy. Is the community offering support to help find her? Have any of the dedicated missing persons organizations been contacted for help? Thank you for the suggestion to contact the Reno police, which I will do. They will probably tell me to go pound sand, but at least they'll know some people are paying attention to what's going on with this case.
 
Hi Neva, I had hoped that maybe people living in the Reno area might be hearing more about Maddy than the rest of us, but now I see that's not the case. Yes, it is very unsettling to know this young lady has been missing a full month with no updates whatsoever. What are your thoughts about what might have happened to her? I'm sure Texas Equusearch would be willing to help, but they want the police to give them the okay before getting involved. Some police departments are more open to receiving this kind of help than others though.
 
Honestly I have no idea. The details around her life and her disappearance are next to none. I think foul play was involved because if she wanted to kill herself in the woods there are way easier places to gain access. I still think it's strange that her car was there for 3 days and the events staff didn't report it. I drove up there today and they have a private property sign posted in the parking lot and right below is a sign that says they will tow unauthorized vehicles, but they didn't. The fact that she was in the passengers seat was strange. Who drove there? We're there other cars in the parking lot that didn't belong there? Was she moving around or still? Zero info...

To my knowledge her family hasn't made any statements or pleas for help finding her which I also think is odd. There have been talks about letters to her friends that I saw posted on this page, but I haven't heard any details about them.
 
All good points, Neva. Thank you for the info about KOLO8 too. I’m not on twitter but I’m sure there are members here who are. We’ve been wondering if there are cameras on the building that could have recorded who was in Maddy’s car. And yes, how come no one thought it was strange that her car was parked there and not moved for three days? I feel like there’s a piece to this puzzle we’re not getting.
 
Usually when LE is silent on a case, it's because they don't need the public's help. They may be following the leads they already have from speaking to family, friends, coworkers, witnesses... And they may well be sharing progress in the investigation with immediate family members, so family members could be in daily contact with LE, waiting patiently for the answers with full confidence in LE.

There are other cases that have gone silent quickly, and then out of the blue one day, LE announces that the MP has been found and/or that a suspect has been ID'd. In most cases that go silent, LE has a suspect, but needs more evidence to make an arrest. I also remember the case of a woman who staged her own death as a murder. There was a lot of discussion with people having different opinions about what happened and then...silence. For the longest time, silence. When someone finally asked about the case something like a year later, someone provided a link to an article stating the woman's death had been ruled a suicide.

If evidence points to something of a very personal nature, such as suicide or voluntary disappearance, LE will remain silent out of respect for the family. There was a woman who disappeared while traveling not too long ago, and her family traced her car's GPS (which they installed without her knowledge) to a hotel. When LE arrived, they found the car filled with her belongings (unlocked, IIRC). Her family did make an awkward plea for her return at first, but then everything went silent. We began to suspect the MP disappeared voluntarily and had abandoned her car when she discovered the GPS under it.

I know it's very frustrating when we don't get answers or updates on a case, but often there is a reason. No updates doesn't mean LE and family aren't concerned about the person. And it doesn't mean they aren't doing everything they can to find the MP. There's no harm in inquiring about a case or suggesting outside resources to LE, but if there's no reply, don't feel it's due to lack of interest.

JMO
 
And they may well be sharing progress in the investigation with immediate family members, so family members could be in daily contact with LE, waiting patiently for the answers with full confidence in LE.
yea! we got a bit but most of the info is staying in the immediate family i think (though still not allowed to share it)
 
Thank you, Indy Anna, well stated. Just don’t want this young lady’s case to fade to forgotten. You’re right, though, we are definitely not privy (nor entitled to) any details of the investigation.

I do think there's a difference posting here to support her, her family, and to inquire amongst ourselves if there are any updates and being aggressive contacting LE or making public posts on a Facebook page demanding information. I hope the family knows everyone here is concerned and following the case out of compassion and nothing else. You're all absolutely right, we have no right to information and there are many reasons why information will be withheld and maybe never released. But we continue on asking: Where are you Madelyn? We want you to come home.
 

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