Pennsylvania Amish woman Linda Stoltzfoos missing; suspect charged with kidnapping
07/13/2020 12:58 pm PDT
via WPMT:
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WPMT) -- Police say a Paradise man has been taken into custody regarding the disappearance of an 18-year-old Amish woman in Lancaster County.
Justo Smoker, 34, was taken into custody on Friday night at his place of employment, police say. He has been charged with felony kidnapping and misdemeanor false imprisonment.
Officials say Linda Stoltzfoos' whereabouts remain unknown and investigators are actively working to determine what happened to her after she was taken. Police say they have reason to believe she was harmed following her abduction.
Friday night, investigators searched a rural area in Ronks, where they thought Stoltzfoos might have been kidnapped. They found articles of clothing believed to be hers buried in a wooded area.
Police said Smoker's vehicle was seen parked in the rural area on June 23.
Multiple witnesses told police they had seen an Amish woman in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by a man, with the vehicle and driver's description matching Smoker.
Stoltzfoos' father reported her missing on June 21 after she didn't return home after a youth group meeting she was supposed to have attended, according to police. Investigators confirmed that she never made it to the meeting.
WGAL-TV reports police said clothing that belonged to Stoltzfoos was buried in a wooded area about three miles away from where she was last seen.
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