[tang-soo]

This was sent to me by my ex-wife. I did some searching and have confirmed that this is legitimate. Please pass it along.

[FairOpinion]

This is a recent photograph of Rachel Smith.

This is a recent photograph of Rachel Crites.

[Cindy]

Here are all the articles (online) with photos, tang-soo.

[FairOpinion]

You are right, it's legitimate, I did a quick Google News search and there are a number of news articles about them.

Here is one:


Missing Maryland Teens Rachel Smith, Rachel Crites

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21260520.shtml


Police are looking for two Montgomery County Maryland teenagers who never returned to their homes after telling parents they were going to a movie on Friday, authorities said yesterday.

Police have stated that there is no evidence of foul play at this time in the disappearance of the two female teenagers. The Montgomery police released a statement yesterday by way of the detectives from the Family Crimes Division, who "are concerned about the mental state of both girls and want to make certain that the teens know that whatever concerns or problems they may be facing can be worked out."

The detectives' concern seems to stem from "comments that the teens have made in the past," Lucille Baur, a spokeswoman for Montgomery police, told reporters.

The missing teens are Rachel Samantha Smith, 16, of Potomac and Rachel Lacy Crites, 18, of Gaithersburg. "They have been good friends for at least a year," according to Bauer.

Authorities say that the two teenagers might have gone to Charlestown, W.Va., on Friday.

"We're asking that they please call and let us know they're all right," said Officer Melanie Hanley, a police spokeswoman.

The teenagers are believed to be driving a dark blue 1997 Subaru Outback station wagon with Maryland license plates MBJ-485.

Anyone with information about either of these girls is asked to call the Montgomery County police non-emergency telephone number, 301-279-8000, or the Family Crimes Division at 240-773-5400.

[tang-soo]

I didn't know if it would be appropriate to toss this into Breaking News. If so, could one of the mods please do so?

[incredulous joe]

sent to many friends in western MD and WV with prayers for the girls and their families

[ReignOfError]

1) It's not the case that an Amber Alert was not issued because of the girls' age. Amber alerts are reserved for the most critical, time-sensitive cases where a child is in immediate danger; that generally doesn't mean an abduction by a non-custodial parent unless there's a history of threats of violence, and it usually doesn't include those believed to be runaways.

The concern is that if Amber Alerts become a daily routine, folks will start tuning them out, so they're reserved for cases of the highest urgency.

2) If you're going to send a mass e-mail for these girls or any other missing child, please include links to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the most comprehensive and credible agency for information on missing kids.

The link for Rachel Crites: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1062352&orgPrefix=NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US And for Rachel Smith: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewCsawDetail&caseNum=1062352&orgPrefix=NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

Including Web links is important because if the facts change, the Web page can be updated -- new facts don't catch up with forwarded e-mails. If the girls are recovered today, the forwarded mail could continue to circulate for months or years, wasting everyone's time.

[tang-soo]

bttt