AL AL - Tarasha Benjamin, 17, Selma, 26 June 2010

Searching for missing young girl

A young girl went missing Saturday morning after she told her mother she wanted to go to the flea market. She allegedly went with a friend, but that friend’s abandoned truck was found on the side of the Cecil Jackson Bypass.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/searching-missing-young-girl/



Hot lead in disappearance runs cold

Shortly after meeting in Selma Police headquarters Monday morning, the relatives of Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin took to the streets in search of their loved one.

[snip]

About the time the group at the center heard from Mayor George Evans and Police Chief William Riley III, several blocks away police cars sped across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, sirens screaming and lights flashing, as they responded to a report of an altercation in connection with the missing girl.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/hot-lead-disappearance-runs-cold/

 

Missing girl's family wants answers

Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin’s face is plastered all over Facebook. Her family hopes the alert will help them find her.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/missing-girls-family-wants-answers/



Family searches for missing Selma girl

"Her not being here leaves a void," says Rochelle Lewis.

It has been a rough three days for Lewis and her family.

She says no one has seen or heard from her niece--17 year old Tarasha Benjamin--since Saturday.

[snip]

Police say Benjamin was last seen in a Silver SUV that belonged to a friend of hers. They located it on the side of the road...empty. Benjamin was nowhere to be found.

"We've searched the area...the night, the day that we located the vehicle. We've been back out several other times checking the area," adds Neely.

More: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=12731316



Search for teen continues

For nearly a week now troops of individuals have marched over Selma and Dallas County, passed out fliers and taken information down on a 17-year-old girl who went missing Saturday morning.

No word and no new leads have developed in the search for Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin, who took off Saturday morning from her house to go to the local flea market and has yet to return or call home.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/30/search-teen-continues/

 

NCMEC POSTER: http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...en_US&orgPrefix=NCMC&caseNum=1151013&seqNum=1


http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/30/search-teen-continues/

 

Searching for missing young girl

A young girl went missing Saturday morning after she told her mother she wanted to go to the flea market. She allegedly went with a friend, but that friend’s abandoned truck was found on the side of the Cecil Jackson Bypass.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/searching-missing-young-girl/



Hot lead in disappearance runs cold

Shortly after meeting in Selma Police headquarters Monday morning, the relatives of Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin took to the streets in search of their loved one.

[snip]

About the time the group at the center heard from Mayor George Evans and Police Chief William Riley III, several blocks away police cars sped across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, sirens screaming and lights flashing, as they responded to a report of an altercation in connection with the missing girl.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/hot-lead-disappearance-runs-cold/

 

Missing girl's family wants answers

Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin’s face is plastered all over Facebook. Her family hopes the alert will help them find her.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/missing-girls-family-wants-answers/



Family searches for missing Selma girl

"Her not being here leaves a void," says Rochelle Lewis.

It has been a rough three days for Lewis and her family.

She says no one has seen or heard from her niece--17 year old Tarasha Benjamin--since Saturday.

[snip]

Police say Benjamin was last seen in a Silver SUV that belonged to a friend of hers. They located it on the side of the road...empty. Benjamin was nowhere to be found.

"We've searched the area...the night, the day that we located the vehicle. We've been back out several other times checking the area," adds Neely.

More: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=12731316



Search for teen continues

For nearly a week now troops of individuals have marched over Selma and Dallas County, passed out fliers and taken information down on a 17-year-old girl who went missing Saturday morning.

No word and no new leads have developed in the search for Tarasha “Pooh” Benjamin, who took off Saturday morning from her house to go to the local flea market and has yet to return or call home.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/30/search-teen-continues/

 

NCMEC POSTER: http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...en_US&orgPrefix=NCMC&caseNum=1151013&seqNum=1



http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/30/search-teen-continues/

 

So, who is the friend and why weren't they with their vehicle? Further, clearly, they were the last to see her...so what were her plans?

 

TARASHA BENJAMIN , Age Now: 17, Missing: 06/26/2010. Missing From SELMA, AL. ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT: Selma Police Department (Alabama) 1-334-874-2134.

More...

 

Keep family in thoughts and prayers

For nearly a week now the family of Tarasha Benjamin has walked the streets of Selma and other places in Dallas County, handing out leaflets with the 17-year-old's picture on them.

The family is hurting.

Each day hopes are raised and dashed.

On Friday, friends, acquaintances and family prayed for the safety and healthy return of the one they call "Pooh."

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jul/02/keep-family-thoughts-and-prayers/

 

Is the friend missing??? Why haven't we heard anymore about this "friend"?

 

That's what I keep wondering....what's the deal with the friend?

 

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jul/03/search-missing-teenager-enters-second-week/

By Brian Tynes | Selma Times-Journal
Published Saturday, July 3, 2010

 

Finally a LITTLE more info on Tarasha's case:

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jul/03/search-missing-teenager-enters-second-week/
Search for missing teenager enters second week
By Brian Tynes | Selma Times-Journal

Published Saturday, July 3, 2010

SELMA — The last her family knew, 17-year-old Tarasha Benjamin was going to the Selma Flea Market. So that’s where they went Saturday — one week after she disappeared — to hand out flyers and try to siphon any information that hasn’t previously come to light.

Helpful tidbits are few and far between.

All that is known for certain is Benjamin, also known as “Pooh,” was planning to go to the flea market, and left in a gray Mazda pick-up belonging to her friend, Telish Givhan.

That truck was found abandoned near American Apparel on the Cecil Jackson Bypass, about a mile north of the flea market and facing away from it.

“The family feels that she did make it to the flea market,” Angela Benjamin, Ward 4 councilperson and Tarasha Benjamin’s cousin, said. “A couple of vendors said they saw her.”

What time she was there, who she was with and where she might have been headed are all questions that, for now, remain unanswered.

“We’re just asking people if they saw her,” Natasha Benjamin, Tarasha’s aunt, said while passing out flyers. “We’ve been talking to the people she usually visits. We’re just asking people if they saw her.”

Angela Benjamin said the police have two good leads, but declined to give additional details.

Lieutenant Michael Harris of the Selma Police Department has been working Tarasha’s case in conjunction with the Alabama Bureau of Investigating and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He said useful information has been hard to come by.

“We need to hear from anybody who saw that gray Mazda between (noon at 8 p.m. June 26),” Harris said.

Harris said investigators are piecing together all the information they have and working to corroborate information to determine what is reliable and what isn’t it.

“But as far as locating her,” Harris said, “we aren’t any closer.”

 

Hmmm.....Tarasha's friend was arrested for menacing on June 28th....two days after Tarasha disappeared. She is being held in jail (or was) and wasn't given bond.
http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/arrest-report/

For menacing? That seems a rather harsh punishment....unless they wanted her in jail for some other reason.

 

This is Tarasha's missing person FB page. This is a link to the discussion area, not the main page. Tarasha's aunt lists several pieces of new info. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to quote, paraphrase, or neither, so I'll just link it. Further, Tarasha's aunt alludes to Tarasha's friends being less than cooperative. She says that LE had to go find these friends....that none of them willingly came forward to help in the search or to tell what they know. Really sad and scary. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?g...arch#!/topic.php?uid=138166619533348&topic=89

 

WOW...first I've heard about this case. Haven't been able to read here as much as I'd like to, so thanks to all for posting the links and other information here.

This case seems "odd" in that there are so few published details. It seems the FB page has the most detailed information.

I read the link re: friend's arrest upthread and found this article: (not sure if it's already posted somewhere - sorry for duplicating if so)...

Missing girl's family wants answers
By Leesha Faulkner (Contact) | Selma Times-Journal

Published Monday, June 28, 2010

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jun/28/missing-girls-family-wants-answers/

<snipped>

The truck is in the parking lot at the Selma Police Department. Givhan is in the Dallas County Jail under an old warrant with no bond, according to the jail&#8217;s docket sheet.

&#8220;This has nothing to do with the missing person,&#8221; Neely said.

At least one person saw Tarasha in the gray truck. Theresa Pugh, a family friend, said she saw Tarasha about 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Pugh lives on Small Street.

&#8220;I saw her go around the corner,&#8221; Pugh said. &#8220;She was driving the truck. She was by herself.&#8221;

my comments: after reading the FB info about possible connections - i'm not sure whether to believe the "old warrant" reference / info or not???

 

Great find, Everyone!

I really don't understand how a 'menacing' arrest would lead to this long of a time in jail. Doesn't that seem odd?
But this is the main point: "Tarasha said she would go to the flea market with a friend, Telish Givhan, who drove a gray Mazda truck. The family found Givhan&#8217;s truck abandoned on the Cecil Jackson Bypass, Regina Benjamin said."

She said she was going with Telish. She was seen in Telish's truck. What happened that Telish didn't go with her.....or did they meet up later.
Another thought I have......what if Telish was the target....and Tarasha just happened to be driving her vehicle?
Obviously, Telish gave her the keys....and Telish knows where she was headed. Honestly, I wonder if her arrest is an attempt to get her talking....but it doesn't seem like that's working.
As for the family, from reading the FB comments, it appears that they know something more than what they are able to say. I think this won't have a good ending...but that they may have some good leads. Prayers for this family!

 

Helicopters find no signs of Benjamin

You can hear the frustration laced with hope in the voices of those who continue to search for Tarasha Benjamin.

&#8220;We&#8217;re continuing to look everywhere we can and pass out leaflets to everyone,&#8221; said Angela Benjamin, Selma City Council member and a relative of the missing 17-year-old.

On the Fourth of July, helicopters and police searched over in the Selmont area. Selma police Detective Michael Harris said no sighting was discovered, and the helicopters were just part of the search.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jul/05/helicopters-find-no-signs-benjamin/

 

Helicopters find no signs of Benjamin

You can hear the frustration laced with hope in the voices of those who continue to search for Tarasha Benjamin.

&#8220;We&#8217;re continuing to look everywhere we can and pass out leaflets to everyone,&#8221; said Angela Benjamin, Selma City Council member and a relative of the missing 17-year-old.

On the Fourth of July, helicopters and police searched over in the Selmont area. Selma police Detective Michael Harris said no sighting was discovered, and the helicopters were just part of the search.

More: http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/news/2010/jul/05/helicopters-find-no-signs-benjamin/

 

Well wishes and Prayers for the family.