GUILTY PA - Erica Shultz, 26, missed work, Bloomsburg, Columbia Co., 4 Dec 2020 *arrest*

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Bloomsburg Police
14h
MISSING PERSON:
Police are still attempting to locate Erica Shultz. Erica has not been seen or heard from since Friday, December 4, 2020 around 8pm.
She is a 26 year old female, 5'4", 220lbs with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is Autistic, as well as diabetic and in need of her medication. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts should contact the Bloomsburg Police Department at 570-784-6300.

BROADCAST: Missing Person
Bloomsburg Police
 
AnnesCuthberts said:
Bloomsburg Police
14h
MISSING PERSON:
Police are still attempting to locate Erica Shultz. Erica has not been seen or heard from since Friday, December 4, 2020 around 8pm.
She is a 26 year old female, 5'4", 220lbs with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is Autistic, as well as diabetic and in need of her medication. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts should contact the Bloomsburg Police Department at 570-784-6300.

BROADCAST: Missing Person
Bloomsburg Police
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The comments on the Bloomsburg Police Facebook post (on December 8th) show that there was a search done yesterday (Dec. 10), and it appears there will be one done today (Dec. 11). It's been a week y'all - this is gut-wrenching. :(:(:(
 
Devastating. Still holding on to hope.

Just from I guess experience? The young people where I shop who work there, bagging, running carts they are so eager to do a good job, and sure as heck do. Especially those on the autism spectrum.

Here's the problem. Anyone who shops there regular knows who is vulnerable, and innocent. Somebody may ask where you live? Anything!

Hoping I am wrong. Also of course not in Weis Market case or Erica's case. A friend mentioned how many RSO's lived in the same house over here. Told her give me Addy. Well, it is where they WORK!!!!! Have to list work info.

Things running through my head. I pray not. Erica should have the holidays!!!
 
So this is veering off into the speculative side a bit, but here goes.

When I worked at a grocery store, one of my co-workers was on the spectrum. When he initially started, there was a "job coach" watching him for a few days. I don't recall offhand if he lived at home or in a group setting, but he used a bike to get to and from work.

From the articles I've read, I speculate that Erica probably did walk or bike to work. It's a small town and the Weiss is only about a mile away from the apartment. Also, it doesn't seem like the family knew right away that she didn't show up for work, so I'm assuming that she had the means to get to work without a family member giving her a ride. What I mean is that nobody said, "when [X} went to pick Erica up for work, she wasn't there."

I am wondering if there are such work-independent living programs for people on the spectrum, which would explain her living on her own but very close to the worksite.

My co-worker was a courtesy clerk - bagging, carts, etc. It depends on the company culture and it could even be localized to the store itself. As part of the courtesy clerk crew, I was instructed to always ask the customer if they wanted help out. They also wanted the cashiers to be all friendly and engage in some small talk. i generally just let the cashiers do all the customer engagement.

Once a customer was somewhat disappointed that the front-end crew didn't seem as friendly as she remembered us so we were encouraged to smile more and be warmer. Obviously I don't know the culture of the town or the Weiss or even how friendly Erica was at work.
 
No report of damage to the apartment door or signs of a struggle. Either she let someone in an left willingly or she left for reasons unknown and met misadventure.
I expect LE has been reviewing available security cameras.
 
This is so concerning.

I am also curious who was to take her to work on Sunday. A co-worker? I feel like her family would know who her ride was, right? Unless a family member WAS her ride and the wording in the articles was just vague - perhaps they did show up to drive her, she wasn't there, so they checked her job to see if she showed up some other way and she didn't?

According to weather.com, the high there on Dec. 5, the Sat., was only 43 and it was cloudy. I would think you'd grab a coat if you knew you were going out for some period of time. Was it usual for her to keep her coat on the couch when not wearing it? Or would that mean she was planning on putting it on soon?

Did the cat have food available? Did her bed look slept in? Were the drapes/blinds opened or closed? Just questions I'd be curious to have answers to in order to narrow down when she was last in the apartment.

I wonder the mail situation in her apartment - it's possible the mail boxes are inside, and I could see running down to check the mail with just your phone and no coat if it's indoors. Maybe get intercepted on the way? Just MOO
 
SimplyCass said:
State police looking for missing, endangered 26-year-old woman

No real news updates lately, though this article was last updated today at 5:25 PM (I presume local time, so EST). What was updated isn't specified, but I haven't seen this bit before:
Click to expand...

I think a lot of people on the spectrum are underestimated in terms of their actual mental capacity versus the difference in how they think. I do believe she potentially has the naivety of a teenager but that is a lot different than using 'mental capacity' as the descriptor. I have to question why she was living on her own in an apartment 24 minutes from her workplace if they are trying to insinuate she is impaired or in any other way unable to make adult decisions. Is her apartment building specifically for special needs individuals? That seems like an important detail.
 
Vail said:
I think a lot of people on the spectrum are underestimated in terms of their actual mental capacity versus the difference in how they think. I do believe she potentially has the naivety of a teenager but that is a lot different than using 'mental capacity' as the descriptor. I have to question why she was living on her own in an apartment 24 minutes from her workplace if they are trying to insinuate she is impaired or in any other way unable to make adult decisions. Is her apartment building specifically for special needs individuals? That seems like an important detail.
Click to expand...
The only info I could dig up on her apartment complex is that it's lower income housing.
Source: Scottown Apartments Apartments - Bloomsburg, PA | Apartments.com
 
Does Erica have a washer/dryer in her apartment? Or decide to run down to one of them dang communal facilities?

Fed Ex? Did a neighbor deceive her saying they delivered hers at wrong apartment?. Come and get it?

Or a shifty, shady coworker pop on in.with.no good in mind?

Her leaving her coat is really troubling
 
MntnHiker said:
This is so concerning.

I am also curious who was to take her to work on Sunday. A co-worker? I feel like her family would know who her ride was, right? Unless a family member WAS her ride and the wording in the articles was just vague - perhaps they did show up to drive her, she wasn't there, so they checked her job to see if she showed up some other way and she didn't?

According to weather.com, the high there on Dec. 5, the Sat., was only 43 and it was cloudy. I would think you'd grab a coat if you knew you were going out for some period of time. Was it usual for her to keep her coat on the couch when not wearing it? Or would that mean she was planning on putting it on soon?

Did the cat have food available? Did her bed look slept in? Were the drapes/blinds opened or closed? Just questions I'd be curious to have answers to in order to narrow down when she was last in the apartment.

I wonder the mail situation in her apartment - it's possible the mail boxes are inside, and I could see running down to check the mail with just your phone and no coat if it's indoors. Maybe get intercepted on the way? Just MOO
Click to expand...

Agree. If only the family took care of the transport. Then they also would know she wasn't at work in the first place.

So her leaving the house had to happen before that. And when a family member arrived they would notice she wasn't home.
 
Has LE made an aggressive effort to seek all security camera footage from the area that day? A lot of properties / individuals have private cameras. Cameras, RING doorbells?

But if they don't make an all-out effort to get any footage now, it's going to be lost. Even footage from a few streets away could possibly show in which direction she headed.
Trying to remain hopeful that there could be clues and leads.
 
Vail said:
I think a lot of people on the spectrum are underestimated in terms of their actual mental capacity versus the difference in how they think. I do believe she potentially has the naivety of a teenager but that is a lot different than using 'mental capacity' as the descriptor. I have to question why she was living on her own in an apartment 24 minutes from her workplace if they are trying to insinuate she is impaired or in any other way unable to make adult decisions. Is her apartment building specifically for special needs individuals? That seems like an important detail.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely correct. I have a son on the spectrum who is 15. Straight “a” student in 10th grade. However; what he likes to do is something a 10 year old would do. Spectrum kids are all so very different, there is not a one size fits all with them. My son is very independent but would never get in a car with someone, nor have a meaningful conversation with them. (Not necessarily every child does this). Generally the biggest conversations are with family, with others he may or may not answer you? (Yes, he is very verbal). He just has a way of blocking out things he’s not interested in. My thought is, someone may have come to her door asking for help, and she grabs her phone and steps out to help them and something happened. They are just so unpredictable at times, yet will always try to help because MANY don’t have a sense of fear. Very scary and my son intends to get his own apartment after college and he is perfectly capable of doing so. We would however have many protocols in place, just in case.
 
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