Krishonda Leanne Townsend

Please pray for the safe return of this girl. She is a part of my community and friends with alot of my family. She was last heard from when she texted her mother to tell her she was on her way home and she never made it. Thoughts and prayers for Shonda. Thank you so much.

http://texomashomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=91925

Authorities in Jack and Palo Pinto counties are looking for a missing teenager last seen in Mineral Wells.

19-year-old, Krishonda Leann Townsend, who goes by "Shonda" spent the Fourth of July with friends at Bridgeport Lake. On her way home, she stopped at a friends house off US Highway 180 in Mineral Wells- she was last seen there around 11:30 Sunday night.Townsend sent her mother a text message just after Midnight Sunday and said she was on her way home- but she hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Townsend lives in Perrin, a small town in Jack County South of Jacksboro and North of Mineral Wells. Mineral Wells Police say her 1997 gray Toyota Camry was found in a residential area in the 800 block of Southeast 3rd Avenue. The stereo was missing from her car and items were scattered around inside, but there was no sign the car was broken into. Her family says her cell phone is either turned off or the battery is dead.

A prayer huddle by friends and family was held for Townsend last night at Perrin High School.

If you have any information you should call the Jack County Sheriff's Office at 940-567-2161

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4284038

(Source: Mineral Wells Index)By Mineral Wells Index, Texas
July 06--Perrin resident Krishonda "Shonda" Leann Townsend, 19, went missing sometime after 12:10 a.m. Monday, while reportedly returning home from Mineral Wells.

According to Townsend's uncle, Jamie Rittenbury, Townsend sent her mother a text message shortly after midnight, telling her she was on her way home -- just east of Perrin in Gibtown.

"Nobody's seen her since," he said.

Rittenbury said Townsend spent the Fourth of July with friends at Bridgeport Lake. Afterwards she visited a friend's home near Palo Pinto General Hospital where, he said, she had last posted a comment on Facebook.

Jack County Sheriff's Lt. Melissa Wigington confirmed Townsend was last seen at a friend's house off U.S. Highway 180 West in Mineral Wells, where she left sometime between 11:30-11:40 p.m. Sunday.

Mineral Wells police noticed her gray Toyota Camry parked in the 800 block of S.E. 3rd Ave. before Townsend was reported missing. They ran the license plate number in the computer at the time.

After she and her car were reported missing to Jack County Sheriffs Department around 10 p.m. Monday night, the license MWPD entered into the computer showed up as a "late hit."

The car was parked on the road in a residential area. Rittenbury said Townsend's car stereo was out of her car; however, he said there were no signs the car was broken into. "There was stuff scattered around in the car," he added.

Townsend has no contacted family or friends since the text she sent her mother.

"Her phone is off or dead," he said. "They said if it was on they could track it on GPS."

A "prayer huddle" for Townsend is 8 p.m. Tuesday night at Perrin High School.

Family and friends ask for anyone with information to please contact the Jack County Sheriff's Office at (940) 567-2161 or Mineral Wells police at (940) 328-7770. Rittenbury said there is a reward.

This article was compiled through information gathered by Index staff writers Christin Coyne(940) 325-465, ext. 3428, and Libby Cluett(940) 325-4465, ext. 3422.

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http://mineralwellsindex.com/homepage/x383296958/Search-continues-for-missing-teen

July 7, 2010

Search continues for missing teen
Some 200 people turn out for Tuesday night's 'prayer huddle'
By David May
Mineral Wells Index

PERRIN — “I got this.”

Those three cryptic words made up the short Facebook posting Shonda Townsend left for her friends late Sunday night. What it means, friends and family members say they don't know.

About 10 minutes later, around midnight, the 19-year-old mother left the west Mineral Wells residence of friends, and some 10 minutes after that, at 12:10 a.m. Monday, she sent her mother a text from her phone saying she was on her way to their Gibtown home.

She hasn't been seen or heard from since.

On Tuesday evening, some 200 family members, friends and others gathered outside Perrin-Whitt High School. They made a large circle around the school's flagpoles, held hands and prayed. They heard Carolyn Rittenbury, who raised Townsend from a small child, make a passionate plea to God and the community for help and guidance.

“I want everyone to know that God is in control of this situation,” said Rittenbury. “He knows where Shonda is, and she belongs to Him. She doesn't belong to me. She belongs to God. I raised her up in a way I know she should be going, and she knows that wherever she is that He's going to watch after her.”

Friends and family say it is out of character for Townsend to not have gone home after contacting her mother. The mother of a 2-year-old son, she is described as reliable, shy and quiet, but still a teen at heart, always with her cell phone in hand making texts or posting to her Facebook account. Those who know her say she possesses the maturity and responsibilities of a good mother, daughter and sister.

Rittenbury said Townsend would always stay in touch with her, letting her know where she was so that she wouldn't worry.

“When she tells me she's coming home, she's coming home,” the mother said.

She said if her daughter is being held captive by someone, “I would just ask them to please let her go. She has a little boy who needs her.”

Police seem to have few solid leads in the case. Townsend's father, Butch Rittenbury, said he believes Mineral Wells police and deputies with the Jack County Sheriff's Department – which is leading the investigation – are doing what they can, but he said they are not saying much to the family.

“She's a good girl,” he said. “It's in God's hands. He's the only one who can bring her back.”

Mineral Wells police said they have been busy the past two days chasing every possible lead.

“We've reported her as a missing person,” said Lt. Melissa Wiggington with the Jack County Sheriff's Department.

She said her department's investigation is being conducted jointly with the Mineral Wells Police Department through the sharing of information and leads.

Asked whether investigators suspect foul play, Wigginton stated, “We're not real sure yet.”

Fears of foul play surfaced when Townsend's gray Toyota Camry was found Monday in the 800 block of S.E. 3rd Street in Mineral Wells with its stereo cut out and items in the car scattered around. Police said it did not appear the car was broken into. How the car ended up there, and when it was entered and vandalized, is anyone's speculation.

Townsend's phone is on a pre-paid account, and it is off – either turned off, destroyed or its battery dead – otherwise officials say they could trace and locate it.

Some friends and family members indicated Townsend has had some recent problems with people, but nothing that seems out of the ordinary for a 19-year-old girl or that would lead to her possible abduction. Police are reportedly interviewing or looking for those people.

Tiffany Sorrells and her husband are the last known people to have seen Townsend alive. It was their house on U.S. Highway 180 West she left around midnight Monday morning.

Sorrells said they had been at Lake Bridgeport on Sunday celebrating the Fourth of July weekend. She said they returned to the Mineral Wells residence Sunday evening and ate before Sorrells and her husband left to pick up their children. When they returned home, Townsend had just made her Facebook posting from their computer and left.

“She seemed alright,” said Sorrells, adding she does not know what Townsend's Facebook posting means. She said Townsend was texting someone whose name started with an “A,” but said Townsend made it a point to keep her from seeing the text.

Sorrells said Townsend had half a tank of gas when they left Bridgeport for Mineral Wells on Sunday, and wondered whether she might have stopped at a convenience store near their house before starting her trip home to Gibtown, located in southeast Jack County east of Perrin.

“Shy and respectful, those are good words to describe her,” said Regina Jordan, a longtime friend of the family who has known Townsend since she was a child.

Nikole Thompson said she became concerned when the usually reliable Townsend failed to arrive at her house by 11 a.m. Monday for her babysitting job. Thompson said Townsend has watched her three children since they attended a daycare, and Townsend has babysat in Thompson's home in Gibtown since April.

“You couldn't find a more responsible kid to be responsible for your own kids,” Thompson said.

She said Townsend spent the night at her house Friday and they went shopping Saturday. She said Townsend left her home around 7 p.m. Saturday.

Anyone with information about Townsend's possible whereabouts are asked to call the Jack County Sheriff's Department at (940) 567-2161 or Mineral Wells police at (940) 328-7770.

Index editor David May can be reached at (940) 325-4465, ext. 3419, or editor@mineralwellsindex.com.

CaptnMorgan wrote:Please pray for the safe return of this girl. She is a part of my community and friends with alot of my family. She was last heard from when she texted her mother to tell her she was on her way home and she never made it. Thoughts and prayers for Shonda. Thank you so much.

http://texomashomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=91925

Authorities in Jack and Palo Pinto counties are looking for a missing teenager last seen in Mineral Wells.

19-year-old, Krishonda Leann Townsend, who goes by "Shonda" spent the Fourth of July with friends at Bridgeport Lake. On her way home, she stopped at a friends house off US Highway 180 in Mineral Wells- she was last seen there around 11:30 Sunday night.Townsend sent her mother a text message just after Midnight Sunday and said she was on her way home- but she hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Townsend lives in Perrin, a small town in Jack County South of Jacksboro and North of Mineral Wells. Mineral Wells Police say her 1997 gray Toyota Camry was found in a residential area in the 800 block of Southeast 3rd Avenue. The stereo was missing from her car and items were scattered around inside, but there was no sign the car was broken into. Her family says her cell phone is either turned off or the battery is dead.

A prayer huddle by friends and family was held for Townsend last night at Perrin High School.

If you have any information you should call the Jack County Sheriff's Office at 940-567-2161

Hi Captnmorgan,
If there is anything we can do to highlight this case more for you just ask.

Thank you so much Antoinette. I just want as many people to see this as possible. Even though almost everyone on this board is across the ocean from us, I so believe in the power of prayer and this family is in such need of prayers and good thoughts and it doesn't matter where everyone is in the world, distance doesn't matter for prayers to work. Thanks so much.

CaptnMorgan wrote:Thank you so much Antoinette. I just want as many people to see this as possible. Even though almost everyone on this board is across the ocean from us, I so believe in the power of prayer and this family is in such need of prayers and good thoughts and it doesn't matter where everyone is in the world, distance doesn't matter for prayers to work. Thanks so much.

Ill give her her own thread so more people see it

Hi CaptMorgan, is there any more information available besides those paper reports? That's because those reports just point out the fact her car has appeared somewhere without the stereo and items scattered, without being broken. Is there anything else that can be made public (that you're aware of)?

Hi CaptMorgan, is there any more information available besides those paper reports? That's because those reports just point out the fact her car has appeared somewhere without the stereo and items scattered, without being broken. Is there anything else that can be made public (that you're aware of)?

Hi, no, so far that's all the info being made public and I'm sure it's because law enforcement are keeping very quiet about things right now. As of last night there was no word and I've not found any new news either but as I do, I'll keep it posted here. Thanks

CaptnMorgan wrote:

Hi CaptMorgan, is there any more information available besides those paper reports? That's because those reports just point out the fact her car has appeared somewhere without the stereo and items scattered, without being broken. Is there anything else that can be made public (that you're aware of)?

Hi, no, so far that's all the info being made public and I'm sure it's because law enforcement are keeping very quiet about things right now. As of last night there was no word and I've not found any new news either but as I do, I'll keep it posted here. Thanks

Do you have a photo of her that we can post on here

https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=131168740252745&ref=ts

Hi everyone, above is the link for the Help find Shonda page. I was hoping to come back and post some good news but they still haven't found her and now Texas Equisearch has been out and the Texas Rangers and so many, many volunteers have given their time to search. Please continue to pray for her safe return and also to help give her family strength.

Thinking of Shonda's family and friends. I hope she comes home safe and well soon xx

CaptnMorgan wrote:https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=131168740252745&ref=ts

Please continue to pray for her safe return and also to help give her family strength.

You got it from the Grouse House, Cap'n.

Thank you so so much wjk, grouse and antoinette and everyone. They are still looking and still no luck. I've been praying for the law enforcement too. I'm sure they get discouraged as well. The heat right now is unforgiving but people are giving their time to go and search. Hopefully soon she'll be home.

They still haven't found Shonda and on Friday, a little four year old boy went missing from his bed a block away from where they found her car. A family friend had taken the little boy and then called the dad at work to demand $15000 ransom or he'd kill the boy. No Amber Alert issued or anything. Sadly, the little boy's body was found in the early hours of Saturday morning. Yesterday the suspect was gunned down about 7 miles outside of town. I don't know what's happening here. I don't think Shonda going missing and the abduction and death of the little boy are related but it would have been nice to bring in the guy to question him on it but if he knew anything, it's too late now. But he did get what was coming to him. I don't see how anyone could do that to another person and especially when that other person is a child. I just can't get my head around it at all.

What is the world coming too!
RIP little boy x

Still no news on Shonda :( I just pray for her every day. I guess that's all that anyone can do.

CaptnMorgan wrote:Still no news on Shonda :( I just pray for her every day. I guess that's all that anyone can do.

So sorry to hear that, Cap'n. Has there been any news at all?

There hasn't been any new news only rumors and they don't sound good at all. I can't say anything though but please keep praying for her to get home and for her family and little boy too. Thanks xxx

Sad news:

http://findkrishondatownsend.com/2011/10/29/skeletal-remains-found-thursday-in-mineral-wells-have-been-identified-as-shonda-townsend/

Thank you for posting that and letting everyone know about Shonda....It is very sad but now her family can have some closure now that she has been found. She will live on through her little boy and I know her family will never let him forget her. Thank you so much for keeping this on the board for so long and letting everyone know :) I hope everyone is doing well. It's been a long time and I'm glad to see the search for justice still lives :)

CaptnMorgan wrote:Thank you for posting that and letting everyone know about Shonda....It is very sad but now her family can have some closure now that she has been found. She will live on through her little boy and I know her family will never let him forget her. Thank you so much for keeping this on the board for so long and letting everyone know :) I hope everyone is doing well. It's been a long time and I'm glad to see the search for justice still lives :)

It is good that she has been found. At least her family know now what happened to her. It must be dreadful for years to go by and not to know. Shonda may now have justice. I hope so.

It has been about a month since she was found. I remember the day they found her, and seeing Scott Mitchum's interview on TV about finding skeletal remains and he was almost in tears. It was pretty obvious they knew who it was before they "made it official" later by the interview. It was so sad. It wasn't very far away from where they found her car. Our community is so small that we all either know each other or know who each other are and this touched each and every one of us.