UPDATE: Search Continues For Amish Teen Linda Stoltzfoos Who Vanished On Father's Day
On June 21, 2020, authorities say 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos vanished without a trace after church services in her local Pennsylvania community.
Linda Stoltzfoos [FBI]
UPDATE 7/13/20:
Justo Smoker [Lancaster District Attorney]
The Lancaster County District Attorney's office says the search to find 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos continues after a 34-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested.
Justo Smoker was charged on Friday with felony kidnapping and misdemeanor false imprisonment, a press release says. Smoker was handcuffed at his place of employment, the report adds.
Over the weekend Smoker was arraigned and a judge ruled he is ineligible for bail at this point.
The teen was allegedly abducted as she walked home from church on June 21, 2020 and cell phone records and video surveillance indicate Smoker was in the area at the time Stolzfoos disappeared, WGAL reports.
It's possible Smoker was operating a 2007 red Kia. Authorities are asking anyone in the area to please come forward if you saw the vehicle in the area.
The DA's office says the East Lampeter Township police has a lot of support from other law enforcement, including help from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Lancaster County District Attorney's team and the FBI.
Lancaster Online recently compiled a complete timeline of the events surrounding the case involving Stolzfoos.
If you know anything about this case, please contact authorities directly: 717-291-4676.
Read more: Lancaster Crime Watch, WGAL
ORIGINAL POST 7/7/20:
On June 21, 2020, authorities say 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos vanished without a trace after church services in her local Pennsylvania community. Since then, investigators with the Easter Lampeter Township Police and the FBI have left no stone unturned in their efforts to find her. Volunteer searchers have also braved the heat and summer storms to scour the area where Stoltzfoos was last seen, working to uncover any clues in this mysterious case.
Stoltzfoos was last seen at a farm on Stumptown Road, specifically between the intersection of Beechdale Road and Gibbons Road in Bird-in-Hand Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, during the hours of 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., the FBI adds. Agents also created and released a composite photo (seen above right) of what the teen may look like in other types of clothing with her hair down.
East Lampeter Township Police Lt. Matt Hess said investigators have checked out "hundreds of tips" in this case, but none have led to her whereabouts.
Authorities say Stoltzfoos was last seen wearing a tan dress, white apron and a black head covering. She stands 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs about 125 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Reports say Stoltzfoos' uncle, who left the community years ago, sought permission from his family to set up a Facebook page to help find her: Amish Girl Missing – Linda Stoltzfoos.
Fox 43 reports authorities are also interested in speaking with people who traveled along these roads on June 21:
- Mill Creek School Road
- Stumptown Road
- Gibbons Road
- Beechdale Road
- Millcreek Road
There are billboards around Pennsylvania with Stoltzfoos' photo and her background and information posted on them. If you know anything about where this missing teen could be, please contact the East Lampeter Police: 717-291-4676
Read more: Lancaster Online, Fox 43, Lebanon Daily News