Last month, we told you about the search for Raven Furlong, a missing seventeen year old from Aurora. Like Kara Nichols, nineteen, and Kelsie Jean Schelling, 21, two other women whose whereabouts are also unknown, she had a profile on a modeling-related website.
The latest? Furlong's car has been found in the Los Angeles area. But from there, the mystery only deepens. Look below for details and photos, along with our previous coverage.
Here are the details Furlong shared about herself on the website Model Mayhem:
The Basics: located in Denver/Aurora will travel if expenses are considered My hair is short and pink right now, but it changes a few times a year. no tattoos or piercings except my earlobes and a star on my wrist, but I am interested in alternative modeling, and I have tattoos on the way (shoulder & rib piece). My ethnicity is not "other". :) I am European (Irish, French, Swiss, German) and Native American. I love to do make-up and art.
She adds:
A bit more about me: I'm pretty much a newb, but I believe I have great potential. I'm looking to build my portfolio, and I want to explore many different types/styles of modeling.
Furlong's loved ones have spent much of the time since she vanished coordinating help through the Help Find Raven Cassidy Furlong Facebook page and trying to get media attention for their plight. And these efforts appear to have paid off. Here's the start of an item from the page, time-stamped late last night/early this morning:
RAVEN UPDATES: This past week we received some reputable tips following the interview on Jane Velez-Mitchell on HLN that made our independent investigation believe Raven may be in California. But it was this past weekend after receiving a parking ticket from Venice, CA that led us to investigate the possibility that Raven was in Southern California. After communication with the Pacific Division of the LAPD in Venice, that prompted Raven's mom and stepfather to fly immediately to Los Angeles.
Here's a photo of the car:
The Facebook post includes this account of what happened after Raven's mom and stepfather arrived in Southern California:
Sgt. Parks at the LAPD had someone watch Raven's car until her mom arrived; for over 12 hours they sat and waited for their daughter to arrive. But at 9 a.m. this morning, no one returned to pick up the car. We have no proof anyone has been with the car since 6 p.m. Friday. Inside the car items found of Raven's appeared as if she may be with the car, but the disturbing items belonging to others raised more issues and unanswered questions continue.
The items found in the car include a pair of men's shoes:
Raven's mom subsequently conducted an interview with KKTV, the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles, and she's hopeful that the publicity this broadcast generated will lead to more clues. The report notes, however, that Raven is only weeks away from her eighteenth birthday, and if she's found after that but doesn't want to return to her Colorado with her parents, she'll be within her rights to do so as a legal adult.
More important information from the Facebook page:
Raven, if you see this please call your mom. If anyone knows of Raven's whereabouts, please call 911 or 1-800-THE-LOST immediately.
There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to Raven's whereabouts, if you would like to stay anonymous contact NWCAVE's Missing Persons' Division Director Shelley Shaffer at 360-852-8019 or email her at tips@nwcave.org.
Look below to see more photos of Raven Furlong, followed by our previous coverage, including photos and video.
Continue for our previous coverage, including more photos.
Original post, 6:05 a.m. February 27: In recent months, we've posted about two young women who've been reported missing: Kara Nichols, nineteen, and Kelsie Jean Schelling, 21. Now, the family of Raven Cassidy Furlong, seventeen, is desperately searching for her, too -- and it turns out she has a connection to Nichols and Schelling. All three had online profiles on modeling-related websites. See photos of the trio, videos and more below.
We'd previously reported about a Model Mayhem page featuring Nichols, who left her Colorado Springs home for a drive to Denver on October 9 and hasn't been seen since.
Here's her Model Mayhem mini-bio....
My name is Kara and I'm 19 years old. I've been modeling since February 2012, and although I'm new to it modeling is something I am very passionate about and I take my work seriously. Currently I'm working on building my portfolio so I'm always looking for modeling opportunities in my area. I've done mostly lingerie shoots so far but I'm extremely open minded and I'm willing to work with you on ideas for shoots so contact me if you're interested in working with me!
...and here's an addendum that suggests her knowledge of modeling's exploitative side:
NOTE TO PHOTOGRAPHERS -- due to my financial situation I am mainly focused on paid work. I am still open for TF shoots but paid work takes priority for now. Please contact me for serious requests only.
Schelling, for her part, lives in the Larimer Square area. She had traveled to Pueblo to visit a boyfriend, but she disappeared on February 4.
After our original post about the search for Schelling, news surfaced that she, too, had an online profile on a site devoted to acting or modeling -- this one called Explore Talent. Here's a look at the listing:
And Raven Furlong? She disappeared from her Aurora home on February 5 and is considered a runaway by police. But intriguingly, there's a Raven Cassidy Model Mayhem page as well. Here's her online bio:
The Basics: located in Denver/Aurora will travel if expenses are considered My hair is short and pink right now, but it changes a few times a year. no tattoos or piercings except my earlobes and a star on my wrist, but I am interested in alternative modeling, and I have tattoos on the way (shoulder & rib piece). My ethnicity is not "other". :) I am European (Irish, French, Swiss, German) and Native American. I love to do make-up and art.
She adds:
A bit more about me: I'm prettymuch a newb, but I believe I have great potential. I'm looking to build my portfolio, and I want to explore many different types/styles of modeling.
One aspect of the search for Raven can be found on the Help Find Raven Cassidy Furlong Facebook page, which features a slew of photos (many are shared below), as well as posters like the one on the next page.
Continue to see photos of Furlong, plus a 7News report. That's followed by photos and videos of Nichols and Schelling.
After establishing this link to online modeling sites, 7News reached out to Model Mayhem, which provided the following statement:
Model Mayhem strongly believes that safety should be top of mind when doing anything online. Because there are scams on the Internet, Model Mayhem tries to educate users about scams and how to avoid them. The site offers detailed safety advice to help members understand what to look for when they are contacted by others.... The site also has a feedback mechanism called 'Contact a Moderator' that allows any member to let site moderators know of any suspicious activity they encounter. Moderators view and respond to each and every inquiry.
The station notes that Model Mayhem has received an "F" grade from the Better Business Bureau.
If you have any information about Furlong's whereabouts, e-mail TIPS@nwcave.org.
Continue for more photos and videos featuring Rachel Cassidy Furlong, Kara Nichols and Kelsie Jean Schelling.
The 7News report:
Continue for photos and information about Kara Nichols and Kelsie Jean Schelling. Here are photos of Kara Nichols, plus a Fox21 report. If you have information about her whereabouts, contact Detective Cliff Porter at 719-390-5555 or findkaranichols@gmail.com.
Continue for photos of Kelsie Jean Schelling. Here are photos of Kelsie Jean Schelling, as well as a KKTV report. If you have information about her whereabouts, phone the Pueblo Police Department at 719-553-2502.
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