ALICIA DANIELLE DeBOLT - 14 yo -(2010) Great Bend (NW of Wichita) KS

Great Bend girl's friends plan Sunday vigil
BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle

• 
  Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle
  Law enforcement
  investigators work the scene at an asphalt plant southwest of Great Bend
  on Wednesday. A burned, unidentifiable body was found at this location a
  day earlier. Great Bend teen Alicia Debolt has been missing since
  Saturday. (Aug. 25, 2010)
  
• 
  Courtesy photo
  Alicia Debolt
  

GREAT BEND — Whatever happened to Alicia DeBolt after she disappeared
Saturday night should not have happened, Tiffany Serna said Wednesday.
Emotion strained Serna's voice. As the 38-year-old spoke, her
15-year-old daughter, Destiny Degenhardt, looked at her with tears. They
paused to speak outside Alicia's house after bringing a fried chicken
dinner to the teen's family — a family in shock, a
family in need of privacy, Serna said.
Alicia was 14. She and Destiny were friends, so close in size they shared cheerleader uniforms.
They said Alicia was excited about going to a Great Bend High School booster club banquet Sunday night. But she never made it.
Many people around town, including school officials, were
presuming that she was dead, even though there was not yet official
confirmation from authorities.
Whatever happened to Alicia should not have happened, especially
in a small town in the middle of Kansas, said Serna, a lifelong Great
Bend resident.
"This is a town where everybody knows everybody and everybody looks out for everybody," she said.
According to initial reports, Alicia went to a party late
Saturday night, but never returned. On Tuesday, the day after she was
supposed to begin her freshman year at Great Bend High, authorities
found a body several miles southwest of town.
They said, without elaborating, that it couldn't be identified at
the scene. They were waiting on a dental examination Wednesday night
from an autopsy in Wichita to confirm whether the body is Alicia's.
"For something to happen in a town like this... it's just absolutely shocking," Serna said.
The Great Bend school district issued a statement Wednesday
afternoon saying that grief counselors were being made available for
Alicia's classmates to "deal with her tragic death."
"We are extremely saddened by the event of Alicia's death,"
principal Tim Friess said in a statement. "It is such a tragedy. Our
prayers are with the family."
"The students all believe that she is gone," said district
spokeswoman Jennifer Schartz. She said the family is moving forward with
funeral plans.
The family has declined to comment.
The district statement said that "Alicia's death and its impact
on students" would be addressed at the freshman parent orientation
Wednesday night in the high school auditorium. Counselors were planning
to discuss how parents can help their children through this
difficult time.
On Wednesday, investigators focused on interviews "with a number
of individuals," said Gavin Young, a spokesman for the Kansas Attorney
General's Office. Investigators also were continuing to work in the area
where the body was found Tuesday, an asphalt
plant outside the city limits.
Young said no arrests have been made.
Alicia was last seen leaving her home at 11 p.m. Saturday, said
the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the investigation.
Great Bend police and Barton County sheriff's officers also were
involved.
Relatives of the girl told KWCH-TV that Alicia was last seen
leaving home with a 19-year-old male friend. She had planned to attend a
party and return home by midnight, relatives said.
Alicia's house is a tidy older home off a main street. A sign
near the front porch advertises child care. There is a rocking chair and
swing on the front porch.
"It makes no sense at all," said Dradeana Cartwright, who lives next door to Alicia.
Cartwright said she just found out that Alicia had made the
freshman cheerleading squad. She described her as having "the perfect
personality, just outgoing and full of energy — perfect for a
cheerleader."
Cartwright, 38, said she would see Alicia practicing on a balance beam on a back porch.
She described her this way: "Just spunky and full of life," "a little spitfire," "a special kid."
"She loved fashion. She always looked adorable when she would go anywhere.
"She just always had her head up."
A candlelight vigil, organized by Alicia's friends and family,
has been set for 8 p.m. Sunday at Jack Kilby Square. An announcement was
made at the high school inviting students to attend.
Serna, the woman who brought the food to Alicia's family, said
the teen's disappearance has made her suspicious and concerned for her
daughter's safety.
She said she will be even more strict with her daughter, Destiny.
"You just never know who you can trust anymore," Serna said.
Asked whether she was scared, 15-year-old Destiny said, "Kinda. I'm, like, still in shock. I don't know what to think."
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/08/25/1462964/great-bend-girls-friends-plan.html#ixzz0xfhmoqnR

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six will hold a news
conference Thursday in Great Bend to discuss the case of a 14-year-old
girl missing since the weekend.Alicia DeBolt was last seen Saturday night getting into an SUV.She
reportedly left her Great Bend home around 11 p.m. to attend a party
with a 19-year-old man whom her mother described as a friend of the
girl.A Wichita coroner is awaiting dental records before
investigators can determine if a body found Tuesday behind some gravel
piles at a construction site is that of Alicia.The attorney general's office said no additional information on the case would be released Wednesday night. Thursday's news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation regional office in Great Bend.

The family of a missing Great Bend teen is moving forward with
funeral plans, even though authorities have not formally identified a
body found Tuesday as 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt.
Jennifer Schartz, spokeswoman for Great Bend public schools, said
this afternoon that although the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has not
revealed results of an autopsy being performed in Wichita, the family
is preparing for a funeral.
In a statement from the district, it said Great Bend High
School's "guidance counselors will become grief counselors in the coming
days, weeks and even months, if necessary, as friends and classmates of
Alicia DeBolt deal with her tragic death."
"We are extremely saddened by the event of Alicia's death,"
principal Tim Friess said in a statement. "It is such a tragedy. Our
prayers are with the family."
Friess said Alicia's death and its impact on students will be
addressed tonight at the freshman parent orientation meeting at the high
school auditorium. Counselors will discuss how parents can help their
children through this difficult time.
"This community cares for each of its children," Tom Vernon, USD
428 superintendent, said in a statement. "We are saddened that this has
happened to one of our own.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the DeBolt family in this,
their time of incredible sadness. Our focus now is on our students who
have been affected by this tragedy."
Alicia was last seen leaving her home at 11 p.m. Saturday, the KBI said.
Relatives of the girl told KWCH-TV that Alicia left with a
19-year-old male friend. She had planned to attend a party and return
home by midnight, relatives said.
Gavin Young, a spokesman for the Kansas Attorney General's
Office, said investigators were continuing to work in the area where a
body was found Tuesday. Authorities have not confirmed whether the body
is that of Alicia's.
Young said identification of the body was not possible at the scene. He would not elaborate.
He said identification of the body will depend on dental
identification, which will occur tonight. Until the dental
identification occurs, he said authorities can't confirm the identity of
the body.
He said no arrests have been made.
The body was found in Barton County, southwest of Great Bend, at
an asphalt plant. The location is behind the Dundee Valley Cemetery.
The KBI is the lead agency on the investigation. The Great Bend
Police Department and Barton County Sheriff's Office are among those
assisting.
The Great Bend Tribune reported that Alicia was enrolled as a
freshman at Great Bend High School, which began classes Monday. She was a
cheerleader.
Her house, where she was last seen Saturday night, is a tidy
older home off a main street in Great Bend. A sign near the front porch
advertises child care. There is a rocking chair and swing on the front
porch.
"It's a tragedy. It makes no sense at all," said Dradeana Cartwright, who lives next door to Alicia.
"She wouldn't just stay away."
Cartwright said she just found out that Alicia had made the
cheerleading squad. She described her as having "the perfect
personality, just outgoing and full of energy — perfect for a
cheerleader."
Cartwright, 38, would see her practicing on a balance beam on a back porch. She said she has known Alicia since she was 12.
She also described her this way: "Just spunky and full of life," "a little spitfire," "a special kid."
"She loved fashion. She always looked adorable when she would go anywhere," Cartwright said.
"She just always had her head up."
A candlelight vigil, organized by Alicia's friends and family,
has been set for 8 p.m. Sunday at Jack Kilby Square. An announcement was
made at the high school inviting students to attend.

This week, 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt was supposed to start her freshman year at Great Bend High School.
The happy, high- spirited teen was “so excited she made the cheer-
leading squad,” said her older sister, Dawn DeBolt, of Great Bend.
But Alicia never showed up for her first day of high school Monday.
And on Sunday, she missed the high school’s fall sports banquet she had
been looking forward to, according to Dawn.
Alicia has been missing since about 11 p.m. Saturday, when she left her
Great Bend home with a 19-year-old male friend. She planned to meet up
with some friends at Love’s convenience store at 11 p.m. but never
arrived there, Dawn said. On Sunday, Alicia’s mother, Tamara Conrad,
reported the girl missing to the Great Bend Police Department, according
to police reports.
“That’s the last time we heard anything from her,” Dawn said of her
little sister as she choked back tears. “Nobody has seen her since. Once
she got into that vehicle, she just disappeared.”
Family members are already “preparing for the worst,” she said,
following the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s announcement that a body
was found Tuesday afternoon in a large gravel pile
in a highway construction site about five miles southwest of Great Bend.

Identifying a body
Authorities were still working Wednesday night to get a positive
identification of the body, which has been taken to the Sedgwick County
Regional Forensic Science Center in Wichita for an autopsy. They are
using dental records for identification, which is expected to be
announced today.
“There was nothing with the body that would lead to a positive
identification,” said Gavin Young, a spokesman for the Kansas Attorney
General’s Office. The family was informed the body found Tuesday had
been burned, according to Dawn. Someone “stumbled upon the body,” and
investigators told the family they’re “pretty sure it’s Alicia,” she
said.
Authorities have stopped their search and are focusing on the ongoing
investigation, which includes interviewing several people, she said.
No arrests have been made, Young said Wednesday. He said the
investigation continues, and the names of those being ques- tioned are
not being released.
“I feel like we’re just waiting for that phone call,” Dawn said. “We
know it in our hearts — we knew it Sunday when she wasn’t calling anyone
or texting anyone.
“I hate to say we had that feeling in our hearts, because it’s the worst feeling in the world.”
Alicia’s sister-in-law, Holly DeBolt, recalled how the girls in the
family spent the day shopping Saturday in Wichita, and how Alicia loved
fashion and spending time with her family.
“She was always very happy and very trustworthy — that might have got her into a little trouble,” Holly said.
“She’s an all-around good kid,” Dawn said of her sister. “She was
beautiful and very well-known. She was the kind of person who would bend
over backward for
anybody who needed help.” Dawn said she was grateful for
those in the community who have supported the family over the past few days.
“All I can say is watch your kids, know who they’re hanging out with,”
she said. “Just because we’re in Kansas doesn’t mean it’s safe.
“Always know what they’re wearing before they leave the house because it’s important.”
Although authorities have yet to confirm the body is her sister’s, Dawn
said that “no one else is missing” in the town of 15,000 people.
“That’s kind of the reality of it,” she said. “The waiting is the hardest part.”

Outpouring of support
At least 100 local students attended an impromptu vigil Tuesday night in
Jack Kilby Square in Great Bend, by the Barton County Courthouse,
according to Jennifer Schartz, a public information officer with Great
Bend USD 428.
“It was pretty remarkable that it was all through texting,” Schartz said
of the vigil, which she attended with her teenage daughter.
Although authorities haven’t determined the identity of the body found
Tuesday, students are already drawing their own conclusions.
“Many students believe it is her,” Schartz said Wednesday.
As students were released from Great Bend High School shortly
after 3 p.m. Wednesday, many of them could be seen sporting pink or purple T-shirts.
“Her favorite colors were pink and purple, so a lot of people were
wearing pink and purple,” said Cheyenne Beakey, a 16-year- old
sophomore.
Cheyenne knew Alicia as a “good cheerleader” who was “nice and smart,” and said she hoped Alicia would be found safe.
Abby Juarez, a 14-year-old freshman and a friend of Alicia’s, described
Alicia as a “very happy girl.” Abby’s mother, Nohemi Vasquez, arrived at
the high school Wednesday to walk her daughter home. Vasquez said as a
parent, she was shocked and worried to hear of Alicia’s disappearance.
Counseling services at Great Bend High School are available to those who
need it, according to Schartz. In a statement issued by the school
district, Great Bend High School Principal Tim Friess said an emergency
plan is in place to help students cope with Alicia’s death.
“We are extremely saddened by the event of Alicia’s death,” Friess said. “It is such a tragedy. Our prayers are with the family.
“We will continue to do what we do, which is educate students and help them in any way we can.”
Alicia’s death and its impact on students was addressed during a
freshman/parent orientation meeting Wednesday night at the high
school’s auditorium, according to Friess. Counselors discussed how
parents could help their children during this time.
“This community cares for each of its children,” said Tom Vernon, USD
428 superintendent. “We are saddened that this has happened to one of
our own.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the DeBolt family in this, their time
of incredible sadness. Our focus now is on our students who have been
affected by this tragedy.”
Friess said that school will not be dismissed for the funeral, once
plans are made. Parents will be able to sign out their children on an
individual basis.
“We want to keep things as normal for our student population as possible,” he said.

Based on this story and other reports one can only presume what the AG's office statement will be in a few hours. Be prepared for this topic to be moved to "Murdered Children".

A Wichita coroner is awaiting dental records before investigators
can determine whether a body found outside of Great Bend is that of a
14-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen since the weekend, authorities
said.

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six scheduled a news conference this
morning in Great Bend to discuss the case of Alicia DeBolt, who was last
seen Saturday night getting into a newer-model SUV. The girl reportedly
left home around 11 p.m. to attend a party with a 19-year-old man, and
family members notified authorities late Sunday morning that she was
missing.Today’s news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation regional office in Great Bend.

News that a body has been found has spread fear among some in the central Kansas community.

Tiffany Serna, who stopped by the DeBolts’ home with her 15-year-old
daughter, Destiny Degenhardt, on Wednesday evening to bring the family
dinner, said it makes her want to keep her own daughter close, makes her
afraid to send her to school.

“You think I was strict before — it is going to be worse now,” Serna told her daughter, who was a cheerleader along with Alicia.

Destiny replied, “I guess it will be better than what happened to my friend.”

Destiny said Alicia had a wide array of friends, both older and younger. “She was nice to everybody,” she said.

KBI spokesman Gavin Young said the body was found Tuesday afternoon
behind some gravel piles at a highway construction site on Highway 56
about five miles west of Great Bend, he said.

Dradeana Cartwright, a neighbor of the family, also said the girl had a lot of older friends.

“I feared for her. I did all the time. I prayed for her a lot,” Cartwright said Wednesday.

“She was a good girl, almost as if she lived beyond her age,” said
Cartwright, adding that she has known Alicia since the girl was 12. “You
know how they say, ‘Live every day like no tomorrow.’ She did
everything with such maturity as if she was a lot older than she was.”

Serna said some in the community are upset that an Amber Alert was not issued immediately after the girl went missing.

The KBI issued a missing-child alert Tuesday seeking information on the whereabouts of Alicia.

Alicia’s mother, Tammy Conrad,
knew of her daughter’s plans to go to a party with the man, whom she
described as a friend of her daughter’s. Officials said that’s why no
Amber Alert was issued when the girl didn’t show up by her midnight
curfew.

Alicia was to begin her freshman year at Great Bend High School on
Monday, and family members say she was excited about
starting cheerleading. Holly DeBolt, Alicia’s sister-in-law, said Alicia
also missed a high school booster club dinner on Sunday night that was
important to her.

“It’s mind-draining and heartbreaking,” DeBolt told The Great Bend Tribune. “Not having any leads, it’s numbing.”

Family members have asked for privacy while they wait for news.

A prayer vigil is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday in downtown Great Bend. The organizers said the vigil would go on as scheduled.

Attorney General to discuss Alicia DeBolt case at 10 a.m.

http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-rmj-missing-teen-great-bend,0,1929688.story
(GREAT BEND, Kan.) —





Kansas Attorney
General Steve Six will hold a news conference Thursday morning in Great
Bend. You can watch it on KWCH 12 and here at kwch.com.

A spokesperson says it will focus on
the case involving 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt.


snipped

http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-live-video-alicia-stream,0,1255725.tividlivestream

live stream of press conference

positive id - it was alicia

her body was burned
RIP Alicia DeBolt -

http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-rmj-missing-teen-great-bend,0,1929688.story
Attorney General confirms body found in Great Bend is Alicia DeBolt
By Cliff Judy
KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

9:47 p.m. CDT,August 25, 2010
(GREAT BEND, Kan.) —

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six has confirmed that the body found near Great Bend is
that of Alicia DeBolt. Six also confirmed the DeBolt's body was burned, making positive identification difficult.

The Attorney General says the investigation is continuing and that anyone who had any contact with
Alicia on Saturday to report that information to authorities.
Six said the case is being classifiedas a homicide, but investigators do not believe the case is a 'random
act of violence.' The announcement came during an pressconference this morning in Great Bend.
If you missed the press conference, we will post it in its entirety later this morning.
------------

DeBolt's body was found behind a rock pile in a construction materials storage yard five miles southwest of
town.
Through most of Wednesday, a DeBolt family spokesperson told Eyewitness News Reporter Cliff Judy the family
hadn't received confirmation the body was the teen. However, those statements changed late in the evening as a KBI agent and the Great Bend Police Chief left DeBolt's house. The family spokesperson and several law enforcement officials have indicated Attorney General Six's press conference may address the body's identification. DeBolt was last seen Saturday night getting into an SUV. She left home around eleven o'clock for a party with a 19-year-old man whom her mother described as a friend of the girl.
As of late Wednesday, Great Bend Police Chief Dean Akings and KBI officials say no suspects have been
arrested in connection with DeBolt's disappearance.

 

 

as soon as the press conf link is up, i will post it for those who missed it.