The FBI’s “specially trained FBI child abduction team” is now involved in the ongoing search for a Montana teen who vanished on New Year’s Day.
Selena Not Afraid Bell, 16, reportedly disappeared after walking away from a rest area on Interstate 90 between Billings and Hardin. Several adults who offered the teen a ride from Billings to Hardin claimed she left after the van broke down, according to the Billings Gazette.
An adult woman walked away with Selena, according to the outlet. The woman said she went to a rest stop to wait for a relative to pick them up, but Selena didn’t stay with her. The woman reportedly said she saw Selena walk toward a field at around 2 p.m. that day and hasn’t seen the teen since.
Bighorn County Sheriff Lawrence Big Hair said on Friday that Selena’s disappearance appeared “suspicious.” Officials have since sought help from a specially-trained FBI child abduction team, the news outlet reported.
“Some of their stories have been conflicting.”
According to Wyoming Public Media, Selena knew the adults she accepted a ride from.
A search involving detection dogs and a thermal drone reportedly detected no sign of Selena within a five-mile radius of the rest stop. Wyoming Public Media reported that authorities have since extended their search to cover areas in Wyoming and South Dakota.
Hardin High School students Selena S. Bell classmates came out to rest area in support of her search…
Posted by Makalia Gutierrez on Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Horn said relatives twice spotted a light green Subaru station wagon with Wyoming plates at the rest stop on the day the teen vanished. Authorities are also investigating a Billings home where Selena attended a party the night before she vanished, according to the Gazette.
Reports indicated that Selena is indigenous and a citizen of the Crow Nation.
Selena is described as being 5-feet-9-inches tall, weighing between 130 and 135 pounds, and having brown hair and eyes. She has a small scar near her mouth and a tattoo of a cross on her middle finger. The teen was last seen wearing a black coat, gray sweater, blue jeans, and gray ankle boots.
Anyone with information regarding Selena Not Afraid’s disappearance should call the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department at 406-665-9780.
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[Featured image: Selena Not Afraid/Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department]
