According to authorities, two women have disappeared within weeks of each other from a popular Colorado tourist area.
Melissa Whitsitt, 34, was reported missing on Aug. 13 after she failed to report to work at a Winter Park resort, police said in a statement.
Whitsitt, who moved to Colorado from Tennessee for work, was last seen earlier that day on Woodspur Lane.
Authorities said her phone was used by an “unknown male” to make several calls from the Denver area, but has since been turned off, the Denver Gazette reported.
“Her debit card has not been used either,” police added.
On the same day Whitsitt was last seen, police also announced that Svetlana Ustimenko, 55, had gone missing just weeks earlier in the Deadhorse Trailhead area of the Arapaho National Forest in nearby Fraser.
Fraser and Winter Park is located in Colorado’s Grand County, a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts with its hiking and mountain biking trails, lakes and rivers, natural hot springs, and ski towns.
Melissa Whitsitt, 34, was reported missing after she failed to show up for work at a resort in Winter Park. Grand County Sheriff’s Office
Svetlana Ustimenko, 55, went missing just weeks earlier in the Deadhorse Trailhead area of the Arapaho National Forest. Grand County Sheriff’s Office
Ustimenko’s rental car, a white 2022 Nissan Sentra with Louisiana license plates, was located in Trailhead in late July, police announced.
The vehicle was supposed to be returned on August 10, Fox News reported.
Officials said the two cases are unrelated and “appear to be isolated incidents with no threat to the community.”
Whitsitt’s mom, Cindy, shared another photo of what her daughter looked like with blonde hair. Cindy Smith Whitsitt/Facebook
Whitsitt’s parents arrived from Tennessee this week to join the search for their daughter.
“Like a needle in a haystack,” Cindy Whitsitt tearfully told CBS News Colorado.
The desperate mom said Melissa was very excited to get a job at Winter Park Resort, a vast ski operation that covers about 3,000 acres (4.6 square miles).
A missing person notice for Ustimenko. Grand County Sheriff’s Office
“She is a live wire,” the mother added. “She always has been, she’s very loud. She would see her or hear her if she was anywhere out there. Melissa, if you see us, call us.”
Meanwhile, authorities on Tuesday called off an extensive search for Ustimenko due to a lack of leads after using drones, dogs and volunteers, the Denver Gazette reported.
She had recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness and “was struggling as she tried to cope and was drawn to the mountains of Colorado,” the outlet reported, citing officials.
A person in danger alert for Whitsitt. Grand County Sheriff’s Office
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Winter Park Police Department at 970-722-7779.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn