Elizabeth Olten is Missing: 9-Year-Old Missouri Girl Disappears Walking Home
Elizabeth Olten Vanishes Walking Home from Friend's House
Volunteers, family, and authorities searched the woods surrounding the path the 9-year-old would have taken for hours into the night. The search resumed on Thursday.
Elizabeth Olten went missing in the small town of St. Martin, Missouri, roughly 150 miles west of St. Louis. Authorities reported that Olten was supposed to have returned home after visiting a friend but never made it to her house. The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported that family said that the 9-year-old girl was both afraid of the woods and of the dark, so being out at night was very uncharacteristic and reason for worry.
Elizabeth Olten was last seen wearing a pink sweater over a t-shirt covered with butterflies. She was also wearing blue jeans and white sneakers. She has long brown hair.
News of the disappearance of Elizabeth Olten came hard on the heels of the tragic news that a body had been found in the search for the missing Florida girl, Somer Thompson. Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said that the partially covered body found in a Georgia landfill fit the general description of the missing 7-year-old and the body bore a distinguishing birthmark that family had informed police about. Positive identification was pending as was an autopsy.
But Elizabeth Olten's case seems to mirror that of a missing 10-year-old Washington girl named Lindsey Baum. Lindsey Baum was walking home from a friend's house -- a distance of about about a quarter mile or so -- when she disappeared in late June. Police have reported that at least one witness saw the girl walking home, but a surveillance camera at a local gas station she would have passed showed no image of her.
Lindsey Baum's mother, Melissa, believes that her daughter was kidnapped. She told ABC News that she is mystified that no one saw anything the night her little girl went missing, considering that the well-traveled route in the small town of McCleary, Washington that her daughter took home is densely populated.
Lindsey Baum remains missing. Anyone with information regarding Lindsey Baum or her whereabouts can contact the Grays Harbor 911 Center at (800) 281- 6944 or the McCleary Police Department at (360) 495-3107.
Anyone having information regarding the whereabouts of Elizabeth Olten is urged to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Cole County Sheriff's Office (Missouri): 1-573-634-9100.
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Sources:
CBSNews.com
Jefferson City News-Tribune
Published by Saul Relative
WVU graduate, with degrees in History, English, Secondary Education, Computer Programming, and Psychology (and nearly a degree in Political Science). Originally from West Virginia, with stints in Virginia,... View profile
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14 Comments
Post a CommentHow easy to stand in judgement ! The parents have been through engough without you pointing blame. My daughter has been searching for Lindsey Baum for many months you saw her on Oprah I can tell you do not know all the facts or you would be ashamed of yourself. The parents read these sites I Think your words are cold heartless and down right mean. I hope you never wear there shoes. To judge a loving caring parent that was careful how DARE YOU !!!!
Point taken, Marisa. And you're right. Some parents can't be bothered; others are not there because of jobs. But the ones that are around should be a bit more careful with their children -- as we have unfortunately found to be the case with these terrible incidents.
has anyone thought these cases could be connected with the one in FL%3F
To Meesha: Teaching children Stranger Danger is ineffective b/c of the number of relatives and immediate family members who violate their own children. What is an effective measure, like you mentioned, is teaching children scenarios and boundaries regarding interactions with [anyone]. Also, vigilance is key too. Taking children where they need to go instead of having them walk is safer. Amber Dubois & Jaycee Dugard disappeared in the morning daylight so children walking alone is a major risk no matter what time of day it is. And please lay off the nostalgic point of view on crime, this world was just as dangerous then as it is now or thirty, forty, even fifty years ago. The only difference between then and now is that abductions are more new worthy.
Saul, you have a point about it still being daylight but I just think that parents these days have gotten too lax in just letting their kids go anywhere, do anything... it's 'too much work' to actually go the extra mile to assure their safety. I understand that there are some parents that can't constantly be around to watch out for their kids, they have to work, or trust someone else, but for pete's sake, it seems like so many of these cases that we hear abou can be prevented.
Does anyone teach their kids about stranger danger anymore and staying in groups??? When I was in grade school we had assemblies (sp) based on this stuff. Screaming rape and kicking people in the shins......the world is less safe now than it was 26 years ago....It's not the parent's fault we have more sadistic perverts in this world, but we need to teach our kids what to do if someone tries to grab them or lure them in their vehicle. We also need to start making chances of that less likely
In her defense, Marisa, although many do not agree, at 9 p.m. in late June, it is still daylight for another 30 minutes or more. But, still, there is something to be said about allowing children to walk the streets at all until they're grown enough to take care of themselves.
Okay, I was just reading the link about Lindsey Baum, the little 10 year old who went missing in June in Washington state. I have one question. What parent in their right mind would let their 10 year old CHILD walk home at 9 p.m. at night from somewhere???????? Come on!!!! It's horrifying what is happening to these children, but safety has to start at home, with the parents.
Unfortunately, Abby, it is part of the human condition. As a society, we can only stop these things from happening through proactive safety and preventative measures and, of course, capturing and incarcerating those that offend and doing what we can to stop them from repeating the offenses (best way thus far: keep them behind bars or execution -- but the latter is only for the most heinous offenses).
very sad and it seems never ending. Is there really a way to stop this? I doubt it.