Yesterday marked seven months since Schelling vanished, and for her family, friends and loved ones, who have displayed remarkable strength in the face of this nightmare, time is of the essence.
She was pregnant when she disappeared, and her due date is next week.
According to Laura Saxton, Schelling's mother, her daughter got confirmation of her pregnancy on February 4. As we've reported, doctor's records confirm that she was eight weeks pregnant, with the presumed father being her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, who played basketball for Northeastern Junior College.
"Cell phone records show that Kelsie sent picture messages of her ultrasound pictures taken that day to family members and also to Donthe and his mother," Saxton said at an April press conference; her complete remarks are below. "Cell phone records also show that Donthe asked Kelsie to come to Pueblo when she got off of work that night because he needed to speak with her in person."We know that Kelsie made it to Pueblo and did meet up with Donthe," Saxton continued. "No one has seen or heard from her since."
Despite the passage of so much time, the people who love Schelling are still actively looking for her, most recently during a search party staged this past weekend in an area near a Pueblo Walmart where surveillance footage showed an unidentified male with her car.The most recent post on the Help Find Kelsie Facebook page, where news about such efforts is coordinated, features this image....
...and the following text, posted on September 3:Tomorrow marks 7 months that Kelsie has been missing. Her due date is rapidly approaching on September 13. This is a heartbreaking time for our family and Kelsie's friends. Please continue to spread the word about Kelsie and her baby and also about the boyfriend who has repeatedly lied and refuses to help find Kelsie or his child. Tomorrow, September 4th Kelsie will have been missing for 7 months. Kelsie is now full term in her pregnancy and we need to do anything we can to bring her and her baby home safely. Please join me in changing this to your profile picture tomorrow and help us raise as much awareness of her disappearance as possible!! #helpfindkelsieThe website HelpFindKelsie.com notes that "the family is offering a reward of up to $25,000 to the person or persons who provide(s) information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for her disappearance."
Visit the site to submit a tip. In the meantime, send good thoughts to family members who could use all of them they can get.
Continue for our previous coverage of the search for Kelsie Jean Schelling, including photos, videos and more. Update, 8:50 a.m. May 15: Late last month, we shared the latest about the search for Kelsie Jean Schelling, a Denver woman missing since February. Her family revealed that she'd just learned she was pregnant and had driven to Pueblo to see her boyfriend when she vanished.
Months later, her loved ones show no signs of abandoning their quest for answers and Schelling's safe return. They've just erected billboards in Pueblo (see one below) and are coordinating a search party for this weekend.
According to Laura Saxton, Schelling's mother, her daughter got confirmation of her pregnancy on February 4. As we've reported, doctor's records confirm that she was eight weeks pregnant, with the presumed father being her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, whose Facebook page pictures him playing basketball for Northeastern Junior College.
"Cell phone records show that Kelsie sent picture messages of her ultrasound pictures taken that day to family members and also to Donthe and his mother," Saxton said at an April press conference; her complete remarks are below. "Cell phone records also show that Donthe asked Kelsie to come to Pueblo when she got off of work that night because he needed to speak with her in person."We know that Kelsie made it to Pueblo and did meet up with Donthe," Saxton continued. "No one has seen or heard from her since."
Does Saxton believe Lucas played a role in Schelling's disappearance? "We are not satisfied with Donthe's original account of the events leading up to Kelsie's disappearance," she said, adding, "We are informed that he has since refused to speak with the Pueblo Police Department."
Within days after the press conference, the Help Find Kelsie Facebook page is said to have reached 100,000 people. To spread the message about Schelling even further, the page announced that billboards would soon be placed in Pueblo, and that's now taken place. Here's a look at the billboard image, which can be seen at two intersections in Pueblo: Northern at Gaylord and Santa Fe at Holly.
Then came this announcement:We would like to invite everyone to attend a search for Kelsie this Sunday.Here's the link to the search party page. Possible locations of interest include the area near the hospital where Schelling's car was found and a Walmart that snagged security footage of a male using the vehicle in the days after she disappeared. We've got information and photos about that below. Continue for our previous coverage of the search for Kelsie Jean Schelling, including photos and videos. Original post, 7 a.m. April 30: Back in February, we told you about the search for Kelsie Jean Schelling, a Denver resident who had disappeared days earlier after traveling to Pueblo to visit her boyfriend.Date: Sunday, May 19 Time: 11:00 a.m. Meeting Place: Southern Colorado Gaming & Event Center (Old dog track) Address: 3215 Lake Ave., Pueblo, CO 81004 Directions: Take Exit 94 off of I-25. Take a left at the light.
Everyone is welcome to come and join in the search. Please wear long pants and comfortable shoes. Bring water and sunscreen. Exact search locations and instructions will be provided in person before we begin the search. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.
Unfortunately, Schelling's whereabouts remain unknown at this writing. But her loved ones haven't given up in their quest to find her, and they revealed at a news conference yesterday a reason for even greater urgency: When she vanished, she was eight weeks pregnant. Photos, videos and details below.
As noted on the Help Find Kelsie Facebook page, Schelling, who turned 22 during the period when she's been missing, was last seen on February 4. The photos and writings shared at the address portray her as a member of a loving family and a person of deep faith. An example of the latter can be seen in this photo....
...and accompanying text, which reads:Kelsie, being a very spiritual and faith-filled person, maintains a running list of favorite Bible verses. Her Bible, filled with fluorescent highlights and personal footnotes, contains her reflections as she continues to pursue her Faith. She would be overwhelmed with the kindness of people and their efforts to find her. So we'd like to share something of hers with you. Please keep Kelsie in your prayers as we continue to bring her home. We cannot afford to stop searching for a person that has such love for her family and friends, and who is inclusive of all.About ten days after Schelling went missing, the accompanying Help Find Kelsie website notes that her car, a Chevrolet Cruze, was located in the parking lot of St. Mary Corwin hospital in Pueblo. Here's a Google map image showing the location: The following month, the Pueblo Police Department put out photos showing shots of the car circa February 5 and 6 from somewhere else -- the parking lot of an area Walmart. More concerningly, the images depict a male getting into the car and driving it away. Here are the four images shared by the PPD: Earlier this month, Pueblo officers announced that they had searched for Schelling in various parts of the city using canines "specialized in searching for missing persons." But no breakthroughs emerged.
Then, at the news conference yesterday, Schelling's family revealed new information about the pregnancy that motivated her drive to Pueblo, as well as details about her boyfriend.
Continue for more about the search for Kelsie Jean Schelling. Schelling's boyfriend, and the father of her unborn child, has been identified as Donthe Lucas. His Facebook page is loaded with photos of him playing basketball for Northeastern Junior College. Here's an example:
In her statement, shared at the news conference and on view below in its entirety, Laura Saxton, Schelling's mother, revealed that her daughter got confirmation of her pregnancy on February 4. Doctor's records confirm that she was eight weeks pregnant.What happened next? "Cell phone records show that Kelsie sent picture messages of her ultrasound pictures taken that day to family members and also to Donthe and his mother," Saxton stated. "Cell phone records also show that Donthe asked Kelsie to come to Pueblo when she got off of work that night because he needed to speak with her in person.
"We know that Kelsie made it to Pueblo and did meet up with Donthe," Saxton continued. "No one has seen or heard from her since."
Saxton didn't come right out and accuse Lucas of wrongdoing, but she came close. "We are not satisfied with Donthe's original account of the events leading up to Kelsie's disappearance," she said, adding, "We are informed that he has since refused to speak with the Pueblo Police Department."In an attempt to move the investigation forward, Schelling's family is offering a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who can help lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons behind Kelsie's disappearance. Such folks are encouraged to phone the Pueblo Police Department on a special line devoted to Schelling: 1-855-4-KELSIE.
Look below to see two videos -- one from a March press conference, the other 9News coverage of yesterday's event. They're followed by complete statements from Schelling family members and photos of Schelling.
More from our News archive circa February: "Kelsie Jean Schelling, missing Denver woman: Car found, but her whereabouts unknown."
