The Victoria Police Department in Texas is searching for a missing 20-year-old woman who was last seen Monday while getting into a rideshare vehicle, reportedly with a man known locally in the Victoria area.
Amanda Stevenson was last spotted near Salem Road after entering a rideshare vehicle on Monday afternoon. Police located Stevenson’s rideshare driver and questioned him. On Wednesday, police spotted him at a traffic light and tried to interview him again, but he took his own life.
Department of Public Safety, Sgt. Ruben San Miguel, announced Monday the identity of the rideshare driver as Kevin Bennetsen, 45, the Victoria Advocate reports. Police added that Bennetsen was known locally in the area for providing rideshare services to the community.
Victoria police and search parties have scoured the areas between Yoakum and Victoria, looking for Stevenson, who may have been in those locations before vanishing. Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon said Monday that his department is helping local law enforcement with the search.
Stevenson stands 5 feet 1 and weighs around 100 pounds. She was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a grey hooded sweatshirt, and black shoes. Stevenson’s mother, Jennifer Blankenship Horsley, told the Advocate that her daughter’s phone has been turned off and locked, and “efforts are being made to collect forensic data from that device.”
“They’re keeping me in the loop as much as they can,” she said of Victoria police. “I am so grateful for them.”
Victoria police urge the public to refrain from “speculating what may have happened, creating a false narrative.” They believe her disappearance is an isolated incident.
“The public must know that the Victoria Police Department is doing everything possible to find Amanda,” the police department said on Facebook. “Anyone with information related to the disappearance of Amanda Stevenson is encouraged to contact Victoria Crime Stoppers at 361-572-4200.”
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Amanda Stevenson/Handout]
