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

[Hopeithelps]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

 

[Jmoose]

FBI involvement doesn't necessarily mean foul play. The FBI was involved in Madison Bell's disappearance and she left voluntarily. That said, I'm not sure if there's any evidence at this point that would support her leaving on her own. Who would she even leave with? To believe that at this point means she'd have to have some sort of secret life and likely communicating through means the Amish typically don't utilize.

Area where she disappeared along Stumptown Rd near Beechdale is interesting as the road is narrow with houses on one side and farmland on the other. Totally random abductions by someone who doesn't know the victim are extremely rare but if it was going to happen, this would be the place to do so because of how rural it was.

In the majority here that we probably aren't looking at a good outcome but really hoping I am wrong.

It isn’t the FBI’s involvement that triggers me, but rather the fact that the local police requested their assistance that does. Bird-in-hand may be rural, but Lancaster isn’t, and the police there are pretty competent and so are the Pennsylvania State Police.

 

[Blue Ridge]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

Thank you so much! It's nice to hear more about Linda, and what her life is like too.

But I'm so worried for her

 

[dally_doodle]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

very insightful. Thank you!!

 

[JerseyGirl]

It isn’t the FBI’s involvement that triggers me, but rather the fact that the local police requested their assistance that does. Bird-in-hand may be rural, but Lancaster isn’t, and the police there are pretty competent and so are the Pennsylvania State Police.

Perhaps the police called the FBI because they think she may have crossed state lines.

 

[Gardenkeep]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

Thank you for the informative post! I've been wondering, but wasn't sure how to find out..is LS strictly Amish or Mennonite? It seems by the sounds of it, her community is a Mennonite community IMO?

 

[Wampuscat]

Thank you for the informative post! I've been wondering, but wasn't sure how to find out..is LS strictly Amish or Mennonite? It seems by the sounds of it, her community is a Mennonite community IMO?

No, she is Amish

 

[GordianKnot]

‘This Is Unlike Her.' Lancaster County Amish Woman, 18, Missing After Church Services

SABBM:

Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, was reported missing this week, with a police spokesman in East Lampeter Township calling her disappearance "highly out of character" despite a desire among some young Amish people to leave the community.

"This is unlike her," Lt. Matthew Hess told NBC10. "There are certain teenage Amish kids who would have that personality or would express that interest, want to see the world. There was no indication that this is the case for Linda."

A spokesman for District Attorney Heather Adams said the case is a top priority right now.

And though she's not believed to have left on her own accord, police had a message for Linda just in case.
__________________________

Crud.

Any optimism I felt yesterday about LE making that direct appeal to LS just evaporated reading this article.

They were just covering their bases, in the unlikely event she left of her own accord.

Clearly, that's not what they actually think happened. At all.

Hence, the request for FBI assistance.

JMO.

 

[Hereshecomes75]

If you’ve been following the FB page set up for Linda’s search, you’ll need to check out the latest post. It’s very touching, from a non-Amish neighbor of the family and gives a sense of what sort of people they are.

 

[ACG2x]

Would she have accepted a ride from an English person that she knew?

Possible but her home on Beechline is so close to where she was last seen on Stumptown that I’m not sure how likely that is.

If she worked at the pretzel stand as noted and interacted without many English customers, one with nefarious intent could’ve stalked her to that point. If it was a regular customer that just happened to “drive by” as she was walking, they could’ve waved and rolled the window down to say hi because they recognized her, etc then take her in a flash.

While there are homes lining Stumptown Road, given the area they are in I don’t know how likely it is those have Ring/Nest/etc cams outside to catch footage.

 

[Lusitana]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

Thank you so much for this post. Sounds like Linda is a sweet girl. I hope she's found safe soon. I can't imagine how worried her family must be.

 

[Trackergd]

Hopeithelps. Did Linda ever attend "Hut Parties" to your knowledge?

 

[Limecat]

Seems like Linda has numerous siblings, and some or all may still live at home. So the house is probably a busy place with family members coming and going. Amish parents are typically relaxed about their children’s whereabouts when they are school aged and especially as teenagers. Most homeplaces have at least a barn, if not additional outbuildings, and the Amish often sit outdoors in nice weather when they are relaxing. So it isn’t odd to me that it took them a while to realize that no one had seen Linda since church.

Amish children finish formal schooling at 14 and then begin a full-time job or apprenticeship. There aren’t many helicopter parents among the Amish.

Thank you HereSheComes. I guess I’m more wondering and guessing you’re correct with a large family around why no one saw her after services? Meaning does that narrow down the timeline as to Linda having to have gone missing on her way home vs going home and back out again. Just wondering out loud I guess!

 

[dally_doodle]

I know the have said she was last seen at Stumptown Rd & Beechdale but have they said WHO was the one who last saw her?

 

[sandmannc]

My first post so I'm not sure if this is where I put it but...
I work at the broad street market where Linda works at the soft pretzel stand. I do not believe it's her mom and dad's stand, maybe another family members? Most of the Amish stands here are staffed primarily by young women about 16-22ish. They are very social with each other even though they live in different communities. I frequently hear them discussing weekend plans in the bathroom for spikeball or other activities and who all will be there.
It seems ALL the girls here have smartphones but she did not carry hers to church
Linda definitely speaks English as well as any of us.
IF she had a disability it was not obvious nor did it prevent her from working long days at the pretzel stand.
She always smiles like she is smiling in that picture, says hi in the bathroom. Zero signs of mental illness or incapacity. I do not believe her disappearance was her own choice.

 

[sandmannc]

Welcome to websleuth's and hope you'll continue to help give us some more insight into Linda's charector and her surroundings. Stick around I think you'll enjoy this website and the people in it. Again welcome!

 

[Hereshecomes75]

Hopeithelps. Did Linda ever attend "Hut Parties" to your knowledge?

What are “hut parties”?

 

[dally_doodle]

Her Missing Facebook page today has made me so sad.

The post they shared from the search & rescue team makes me feel like some of the resources are needing to leave, which I knew would eventually happen, you can’t search forever, but it breaks my heart.

 

[Hopeithelps]

Thank you for the informative post! I've been wondering, but wasn't sure how to find out..is LS strictly Amish or Mennonite? It seems by the sounds of it, her community is a Mennonite community IMO?

She is definitely Amish. Women wear solid color dresses only, and the same double peaked prayer bonnet. At least here. They don't drive. The Menno girls wear all kinds of coverings and drive.

 

[Hopeithelps]

Al

She is definitely Amish. Women wear solid color dresses only, and the same double peaked prayer bonnet. At least here. They don't drive. The Menno girls wear all kinds of coverings and drive.

Also she is wearing a CAP like a head covering, not a white CAPE