Posted on 02/10/2005 11:05:54 AM PST by JCRoberts
Kendra Benham Missing Since Friday
POSTED: 5:42 pm CST February 9, 2005 UPDATED: 9:14 am CST February 10, 2005
BEATRICE, Neb. -- A national alert is out for a missing Beatrice woman.
Kendra Benham, 18, was been missing since Friday night. The Southeast Community College student's family said they have no idea where she may be.
The FBI is now helping local law enforcement in the search that spans Gage County. They searched in and around parts of Beatrice on Wednesday. The Nebraska State Patrol helicopter searched for five hours from the air, covering hundreds of miles.
Her family is racked with worry.
"Knowing if she's safe or what happened to her, if she's safe or who's done what," said Rhonda Benham, Kendra's mother. "It's just not knowing. It's everybody's worst nightmare. There's no words to describe how difficult this is."
Friday night, Kendra was headed to a party four miles north of the SCC campus. She never made it to the party. Investigators said Kendra Benham was driving her 1997 GMC pickup truck with dark, tinted windows with a white barrel racing logo on the driver's side.
"It's very puzzling," said Gage County Sheriff Jerry Dewitt.
Investigators have set up a command center at the Gage County fairgrounds.
"We can't rule out foul play," Dewitt said. "We can't rule out she just took off. We just don't know right now."
Her family and friends are especially concerned because there has been no activity on Kendra Benham's bank accounts and she hasn't used her cell phone since Friday night.
"This kid was on the phone constantly," Rhonda Benham said.
The student's dorm room has not been touched.
"She would not go off and leave her personal stuff," said Kathy Hambleton, Kendra's aunt. "This is not her."
For some reason she reminds me of Dru Sjodian (SP)
Hope Gretta gives this some attention.
Missing Girl BTTT
Not good at all. If she was just out with a friend or had gone away for the weekend, she still would have made calls or used cards for travel expenses.
I'm glad that law enforcement is taking this seriously - and I pray that they find her in time to save her...
A Southeast Community College-Beatrice student has been missing since Friday, according to the Gage County Sheriff's Office. Kendra L. Benham, 18, was spotted leaving her classes Friday by a friend but hasn't been seen or heard from since, said Terry Stiles, an investigator with the sheriff's office.
Foul play is not expected in the disappearance, Stiles said. Still, leaving without first telling family or friends is uncharacteristic for Benham, he said.
Stiles said he had spoken to Benham's mother Tuesday and would continue to interview friends and roommates.
Benham is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 145 pounds. She may be driving a green 1997 GMC pickup truck. She was reported missing Monday night.
Anyone with information on Benham's whereabouts can call the Beatrice Communications Center at (402) 223-5221.
-- Lincoln Journal Star
Kendra Benham: 
BY CARA PESEK / Lincoln Journal Star
The Gage County Sheriff's Office will resume the search Thursday for a missing Southeast Community College student.
Benham
Authorities began a ground and air search for Kendra Benham, 18, Wednesday. Teams of area firefighters and a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter covered more than 400 square miles, said Gage County Sheriff Jerry DeWitt.
County Attorney Richard Smith told the Beatrice Daily Sun at a Wednesday press conference that Benham was pregnant. Dewitt said his investigators had been unable to confirm that possibility.
Wednesday's search for a young woman others described as popular and conscientious ended without rescuers finding her green GMC pickup or any concrete clues, DeWitt said. Searchers looked township by township, using four-wheelers to drive where cars could not.
"It's kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack," DeWitt said. "Where do you start first?"
Benham, a first-year student from Palmer, was last seen leaving her classes on Friday. She was reported missing Monday night, according to a sheriff's press release.
Officials with the sheriff's office said they didn't have enough information to suspect foul play, but said it was unlike Benham to leave without telling her friends and family.
Searches such as this are uncommon in Gage County. DeWitt said he could recall receiving just three or four other missing persons reports in the more than 15 years he's served as sheriff. The search for Benham is the largest he can remember, he said.
Tom Cardwell, dean of student services at SCC-Beatrice, described Benham as a bright young woman with lots of friends.
He had met her just a few weeks before, when she stopped in his office to chat. Their conversation left Cardwell with no reason to be concerned, he said.
So when Benham, who was studying agriculture, didn't show up at her classes Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, her teachers and friends grew worried, he said.
"Everyone is just kind of reserved and concerned," he said.
The college sent an e-mail to students, asking them for clues and rumors of Benham's whereabouts. Responses were then forwarded to the sheriff's office, Cardwell said.
Investigators were interviewing Benham's family and friends, DeWitt said, and also had sought a national Amber Alert.
Meanwhile on campus, Cardwell and others remained both optimistic and concerned.
"She may have needed to get away for a few days to collect her thoughts," he said. "That wouldn't be that unusual, really."
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.
BY CARA PESEK / Lincoln Journal Star
The Gage County Sheriff's Office will resume the search Thursday for a missing Southeast Community College student.
Benham
Authorities began a ground and air search for Kendra Benham, 18, Wednesday. Teams of area firefighters and a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter covered more than 400 square miles, said Gage County Sheriff Jerry DeWitt.
County Attorney Richard Smith told the Beatrice Daily Sun at a Wednesday press conference that Benham was pregnant. Dewitt said his investigators had been unable to confirm that possibility.
Wednesday's search for a young woman others described as popular and conscientious ended without rescuers finding her green GMC pickup or any concrete clues, DeWitt said. Searchers looked township by township, using four-wheelers to drive where cars could not.
"It's kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack," DeWitt said. "Where do you start first?"
Benham, a first-year student from Palmer, was last seen leaving her classes on Friday. She was reported missing Monday night, according to a sheriff's press release.
Officials with the sheriff's office said they didn't have enough information to suspect foul play, but said it was unlike Benham to leave without telling her friends and family.
Searches such as this are uncommon in Gage County. DeWitt said he could recall receiving just three or four other missing persons reports in the more than 15 years he's served as sheriff. The search for Benham is the largest he can remember, he said.
Tom Cardwell, dean of student services at SCC-Beatrice, described Benham as a bright young woman with lots of friends.
He had met her just a few weeks before, when she stopped in his office to chat. Their conversation left Cardwell with no reason to be concerned, he said.
So when Benham, who was studying agriculture, didn't show up at her classes Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, her teachers and friends grew worried, he said.
"Everyone is just kind of reserved and concerned," he said.
The college sent an e-mail to students, asking them for clues and rumors of Benham's whereabouts. Responses were then forwarded to the sheriff's office, Cardwell said.
Investigators were interviewing Benham's family and friends, DeWitt said, and also had sought a national Amber Alert.
Meanwhile on campus, Cardwell and others remained both optimistic and concerned.
"She may have needed to get away for a few days to collect her thoughts," he said. "That wouldn't be that unusual, really."
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.
Well. That's new.
How sad.
Most of you have probably heard that they found she was the victim of a fatal vehicle accident. They found her in her truck yesterday about four miles from campus in a ravine. This is a sad ending.
Oh no! How awful.
Prayers going out for the family.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.