Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Missing teen now believed to be runaway

Justin Carinci The Columbian

Although 16-year-old Prairie High School student Amanda Bentz is still missing, sheriff’s officials believe she left home voluntarily.

“With all the information they have, the detectives are extremely confident and comfortable saying that this is not an abduction case,” said Sgt. Tim Bieber with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Bentz, a junior at Prairie High, has been missing since Tuesday morning, when she left her parents’ house in Battle Ground but didn’t show up for school. Bentz had been corresponding with a 19-year-old Michigan man who detectives believe took a Greyhound bus out to meet her.

“He had borrowed some money to get on a bus and head out to the Portland-Vancouver area,” Bieber said. “We had a witness who saw him meet up with her in an area a mile from her house, and another witness says they possibly saw them get on a Greyhound bus also.”

Bentz has likely left the state, Bieber said, although detectives don’t know where she might be or whether she planned to return to Michigan with the man. Michigan detectives have left messages on the man’s cell phone, but they believe his battery has died.

“Hopefully this young man will get his battery charged,” Bieber said.

The Major Crimes Unit had been assigned the case – an unusual step in a missing person case – because of the possibility Bentz had not run away voluntarily. Bentz is now considered a runaway.

“There’s still a concern about getting her back safely,” Bieber said.

Although a child under 18 may not leave home without a parent’s permission, Bentz would not face criminal charges. “Running away in the state of Washington is not a crime,” Bieber said.