KASANDRA POSHEPNY - 16 yo - Sonoma Valley CA

Family searching for missing Sonoma Valley 16-year-old girl

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 12:22 p.m.

Family members of a missing 16-year-old Sonoma Valley girl are
searching for some clue to her whereabouts, using Facebook, posted
fliers and other means to publicize their search.

Glen Ellen resident Kasandra Poshepny didn't return from summer school Friday and was later
learned to be with her boyfriend, visiting some of his relatives in
Healdsburg, where they planned to stay the night.
But the couple departed suddenly Saturday morning while Kasandra was still
in pajamas and no one has heard or seen from them since, family members said.


Enlarge

The Healdsburg relatives told the girl's mother, Noreen Hughes of Rohnert Park, “that
they weren't acting right at all” before they left.
Sonoma County sheriff's Lt. Dennis O'Leary said both Poshepny and her
boyfriend, Robbie Huffman, 19, have turned off their cellphones and not
returned messages.
O'Leary said he's seen no evidence of foul play.
Poshepny attends Sonoma Valley High School and lives in Glen Ellen, staying in
the home of a neighbor next door to her father, Tony Poshepny,
step-mother and grandmother.
She takes a bus to school and was present for a Friday morning algebra class, said her older sister, Jess Poshepny, 26.
But even if Kasandra “just kind of took off,” it would be way out of
character not to let someone know where she was at this point, Jess
Poshepny said. “She and I are really close,
and she's always told me most things, and so it's really not like her
...” Jess Poshepny said. “I've been trying to contact her since even
before my dad called me on Sunday and said that he filed a missing
person's report for her. I've been trying to reach out and talk to her
to schedule a dinner since last Monday, and (not having her call back)
that's just not normal.”
The teen is described as a petite, 5-feet-3 inches tall with brown eyes and
long brown, naturally curly hair, though she sometimes wears it
straight, her sister said.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts can contact Jess Poshepny (707) 812-4947 or jess.poshepny@gmail.com.
Information is available at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Kasandra-Home-Safely/190633560990997.


http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110713/ARTICLES/110719813/1033/sitemaps?p=1&tc=pg

Sonoma teen declared missing


Kasandra Poshepny last seen July 9 with her boyfriend

By Emily Charrier-Botts/Index-Tribune Entertianment Editor
Jul 14, 2011 - 12:17 PM


Robbie Huffman and Kasandra Poshepny.
Kasandra was declared a missing person July 9.

A Glen Ellen family is frantic for information about
their daughter, 16-year-old Kasandra Rose Poshepny, who failed to return
home after spending the night out on Friday, July 8. The
teenager was last seen with her boyfriend, Robbie Huffman, 19, when the
pair slept over at his cousin’s Healdsburg residence. When Kasandra
didn’t return home on Saturday, her father, Tony Poshepny, filed a
missing persons report with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department.
Kasandra’s mother, Noreen Hughes, lives in Rohnert Park but the teen
lives with her father and step-mother in Glen Ellen. Huffman’s family
has not reported the 19-year-old as missing. Kasandra’s older
sister Jess Poshepny, 26, said she was told the couple left very early
on the morning of July 9. “I don’t know if anyone even saw her that
morning, that’s just what the police told me,” Jess Poshepny said.



Kasandra is five-foot, three-inches tall with brown eyes and long brown hair
that is naturally curly, but that she sometimes wears straight. Huffman
drives a late 1980s Nissan pick-up truck painted a primer grey that can
appear Army green, and has a dent in the driver’s door. His tags were
stolen shortly before the disappearance, so the truck may not have any
license plates. Ryan Patrick, a missing persons investigator
with the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit of the Sonoma County Sheriffs
Department, is working with the family on the case. Lt. Dennis O’Leary,
with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department, said law enforcement does
not think that foul play is involved. “We believe she’s voluntarily
missing,” he said. “The cousin up in Healdsburg said they have a good
relationship and (Huffman) is not forcing her to do anything.” Jess
Poshepny said the last time anyone in her family can confirm seeing
Kasandra was on Friday, July 8, when the teen left early that morning to
attend summer school at Sonoma Valley High School, where she will be a
senior in the fall. Jess Poshepny said she spoke to Kasandra’s best
friend, who also attends summer school at the high school, who reported
that Kasandra seemed upset that day. “She said while (Kasandra)
was at school she looked like something was wrong, but (Kasandra)
wouldn’t tell her anything,” Jess Poshepny said, adding that the friend
offered an ominous message. “She said, ‘I hope we bring (Kasandra) home
alive.’” Kasandra and Huffman’s cellphones have both been off
since Saturday and neither have responded to voice messages. Jess
Poshepny said it is out of character for Kasandra not to check in. “This
has never happened with her before,” she said. “I have been trying to
reach her since last Monday and she always responds to me.” O’Leary
said the Sheriffs Department is securing Kasandra’s phone records to
see if there has been any activity on the cellphone in the past week,
and expected to have that information Thursday afternoon, after
presstime. In the meantime, Jess Poshepny has launched a Facebook page
called “Bring Kasandra Home Safely,” where she is posting information
and hoping to get tips on the couple’s whereabouts.
“She’s been gone for almost a week now and that’s not normal,” Jess Poshepny said.
“We’re all just in shock.” Jess Poshepny said she did not know much about Huffman, other than that the
couple has been dating off and on for around a year. He is a native of
Missouri, and O’Leary said he was a “drifter,” with no permanent
residence. O’Leary confirmed that Huffman was arrested in April in San
Francisco, but did not yet know the nature of the crime. Erica Terry
Derryck, a spokeswoman with the San Francisco District Attorney’s
Office, said that a Robert Ray Huffman was arrested on narcotics charges
on April 20, but the I-T could not confirm that it is the same Huffman. Anyone
with information is asked to contact the Sonoma County Sheriffs
Department at 565-2185. Jess Poshepny is also seeking information on her
sister and can be reached at jess.poshepny@gmail.com or on the “Bring Kasandra Home Safely” Facebook page here.

http://www.sonomanews.com/News-2011/Sonoma-teen-missing/index.php?previewmode=on

No activity on missing girl’s cellphone


Rally Sunday in Healdsburg

Jul 15, 2011 - 03:55 PM



Kasandra Poshepny



The last time Kasandra Poshepny, 16, used her cellphone
was around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, July 8. It was the last day the Glen
Ellen teenager was seen by her family. Afer leaving summer
school at Sonoma Valley High that day, Poshepny planned to spend the
night with her boyfriend, Robbie Huffman, 19, at his cousin’s Healdsburg
home that night. The cousin told police he saw the couple leave the
home early the next morning in Huffman’s late 1980s Nissan pick-up
truck, which is painted a primer grey and has a dent in the driver’s
door. When she didn’t return home as expected on Saturday, July
9, her father filed a missing persons report with the Sonoma County
Sheriffs Department, who immediately added her to the missing persons
database but waited until Monday to assign an officer to investigate the
case. “The officers are starting to believe she’s a runaway but
I’m not believing it,” said Jess Poshepny, 26, Kassandra’s sister who
is spearheading efforts to locate the teen. “This is completely out of
the norm for her, she has never taken off before.” Poshepny is
working with private investigator Monique Lessan, of the
Healdsburg-based Eye Investigate, who has expertise in missing person
cases. “She specializes in missing children, especially with
drugs and human trafficking,” Jess Poshepny said. “She’s worked all over
the world.” Lessan is beginning by contacting the cousin while
also chasing down information about Huffman’s family in his native
Missouri. The pair is also investigating how to obtain Huffman’s
cellphone records to search for activity there. Jess Poshepny was able
to retrieve sister’s phone records Thursday, which showed the last call
she made was to a number in Healdsburg. “I think it’s Robbie’s cousin’s number,” she said, adding that she still needs to confirm that fact. After several sightings of both Kasandra and Huffman’s car were reported on the Facebook page “Bring Kasandra Home Safely,”
Jess Poshepny spent Thursday night chasing down leads to no avail. She
is now planning to hold a rally to spread awareness about the missing
teen in Healdsburg on Sunday, with the time and location to be
determined (the information will be posted to sonomanews.com as soon as
it’s available.) Anyone with information about Kasandra’s website are asked to contact Jess Poshepny at 812-4947 or e-mail jess.poshepny@gmail.com.http://www.sonomanews.com/News-2011/No-activity-on-missing-girls-cellphone/

Kasandra Poshepny, 16, may have had her own reasons to disappear with
her 19-year-old boyfriend, Robbie Huffman, but her family still hopes
the Glen Ellen teen, who was reported as missing July 9, will call home
and let them know she's all right. Exactly what happened on
Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9, the last days Kasandra and Huffman
were seen, remains unclear. But her sister said she is confident that
Kasandra would never disappear without letting the family know she's OK.

"She
would call me, if she knew how worried we are, she would call," said
Jess Poshepny, 26, who is orchestrating the effort to find her sister.
She is hosting a rally in Santa Rosa's Julliard Park on Wednesday, July
20, from 6 to 8 p.m. - an area Huffman was known to frequent and where
several unconfirmed sightings of the couple have been reported. Kasandra's
family last saw her on Friday, July 8, when she left home to go to
summer school at Sonoma Valley High School. After leaving school, she
went to Healdsburg to spend the night at the home of Huffman's cousin,
Steve Knox. The Knoxes said they saw the couple on Saturday morning, but
said they have not heard from them since. The last time
Kasandra made a call from her cell phone was around 1:30 p.m. on Friday,
July 8, the last day her family saw her. For the following week,
Kasandra's voicemail box was full, sparking an automated message from
her cellphone provider. But this past weekend, someone emptied the
voicemail box, although myriad calls Jess Poshepny left have gone
unanswered. "I told her I have a change of clothes for her in my
car and I just want to know she's all right and take her to dinner, she
doesn't have to come home," Jess Poshepny said. "If she's really
checking those messages, than I know she would call." Monique
Lessan, a private investigator and owner of Eye Investigate who is
working on the case pro bono, said she heard from Steve Knox and his
wife, Nicole, that Kasandra was upset with her family on July 8, and
asked Huffman to take her away. "According to his family, he
(Huffman) encouraged her to go home, but she didn't want to, so he took
her to his cousin's house," Lessan said. Jess Poshepny said she
too heard Kasandra was upset, but has gotten various stories on who she
was angry with and why. "There's a lot of stories floating around," Jess
Poshepny said. Shortly after arriving in Healdsburg, the Knoxes
told Lessan, Kasandra disappeared on her own for around eight hours.
Huffman, the Knoxes and their five children spent hours looking for the
teen, going so far as to call Kasandra's mom, Noreen Hughes, in Rohnert
Park, and they were about to notify the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
when the teen was discovered on the property. "She went and hid
for like eight hours. Everyone was looking for her, even the dogs,"
Lessan said, adding that when she was found she was "covered in mosquito
bites." The couple spent Friday night at the Knox's home. In
the morning, Nicole Knox reportedly gave Kasandra clothing to borrow,
including a bright green shirt with a small pink skull on the sleeve
that the teen was last seen wearing, while she washed her clothes.
Lessan said the Knoxes left their home by 10 a.m. and when they
returned, the couple was gone, leaving Kasandra's clothing behind in the
washing machine. Lessan theorized that the couple might have
had reason to disappear. Huffman has a previous arrest record for
selling marijuana and was reportedly quite upset that the Knoxes planned
on calling the Sheriff's Office when Kasandra was missing. "They may
have left because they didn't want him to get in trouble with the
police," Lessan said. Jess Poshepny isn't so quick to accept
that conclusion, saying the story the Knoxes initially told police does
not match the story Lessan heard. "There's several elements of
this story that are different than what police got," she said. "I don't
know what to believe until I hear it myself." Huffman was
driving a late 1980s Nissan pick-up truck painted primer grey. Initial
reports indicated the car had a dent in the driver's door, but now
family members are saying that information may be incorrect. Jess
Poshepny said Kasandra has never disappeared without notifying her
family. Jess Poshepny spent last weekend tracking down myriad reported
sightings across Sonoma County, reviewing surveillance video and talking
to numerous witnesses, but has yet to find proof that the teen has been
seen in the area. "It's kind of getting a little ridiculous.
The sightings are everywhere and none of them are her," said Jess
Poshepny. "The (police) officers are starting to believe she's a runaway
but I'm not believing it. This is completely out of the norm for her,
she has never taken off before." Lt. Dennis O'Leary, with the
Sonoma County Sheriffs Office, confirmed that law enforcement is
treating Kasandra as a runaway. They are currently calling phone numbers
the teen dialed before she disappeared, but have yet to pinpoint any
solid leads. "We believe she's voluntarily missing," O'Leary said. "It's just a matter of time before she shows up somewhere." The
family and Lessan are worried the couple may have left the state.
Huffman is a native of Missouri who also has family in Florida. Lessan
said she tracked down Huffman's real father, who had not recently heard
from the 19-year-old. Lessan said she is now trying to locate Huffman's
former foster family in Missouri along with his best friend, Chance
Hubbard, of Doniphan Mo. "The family said if anybody, Chance would know where they are," Lessan said. Jess
Poshepny said, despite what anyone else says, those closest to Kasandra
know she would not put her loved ones through the torment of searching
for her. "There's a solid core of people who think that something is
wrong," she said, adding that she will continue following up with any
leads she can to find her sister. Anyone with any information
about Kasandra is asked to call Jess Poshepny at 243-3062 or email
jess.poshepny@gmail.com or O'Leary at 565-2185. More information and fliers are available at missingkasandrarosep.com.
http://www.sonomanews.com/News-2011/Search-continues-for-missing-teen/

No word from missing Glen Ellen teenager

Posted on July 21, 2011

Kasandra
Poshepny was doing well in summer school, needing just one more week to
finish an algebra class in advance of her final year at Sonoma Valley
High School.
“She was really excited about her senior year,” said her older sister
and confidant Jess Poshepny. Nearly two weeks later, the 16-year-old
Glen Ellen girl remains missing.
“This is not normal for her, just to disappear,” Poshepny said.
“Before this, she was a typical teenager, addicted to the phone and on
Facebook all the time.”
All communication abruptly ceased on July 8, the day Kasandra was
last seen. At the time, she was in the company of her boyfriend Robbie
Huffman, 19, in rural Healdsburg. He was driving a late-1980s gray
Nissan pick-up truck.
The young couple had spent the night at the home of Huffman’s cousin.
Poshepny said she had been told the teenagers had a fight and that
Kassandra took off walking alone and was gone for several hours. The
host family grew concerned and called the Sheriff. This further agitated
Huffman, Poshepny said, because he has a marijuana conviction on his
record.
Huffman drove away, but returned with Cassandra in the truck. He was
anxious to leave with her for the night but was told that taking the
16-year-old girl with him without her parent’s permission would lead to
serious trouble.
The request for a deputy was apparently called off, Poshepny said, and Huffman settled down.
The next day was to be a child’s birthday party. Kassandra’s mother, who
is separated from her father and lives in Rohnert Park, was to attend,
and take her young daughter home afterwards.
Instead, the host family returned from morning shopping to find that the
teens had disappeared. Both of their cell phones were turned off.
Poshepny said she feels Huffman forced Kassandra to leave with him. “I don’t believe she ran away.”
Her sister describes Kasandra as 5 ft. 3 in, has long brown hair, big
brown eyes, and is “petite and very sweet.” The 16-year-old also has a
piercing in her right nostril, and usually wears a stud there.
She attended school on July 7 but did not return to Glen Ellen, where she lives with her father.
Tips as to her whereabouts keep pouring in through a Facebook page,
website and over the phone. The family has done its best to check out
the leads, Poshepny said, going as far as viewing surveillance video
from a grocery store.
Still, there is nothing solid to go on. “The stories sound a little smudged,” she said.
Poshepny said she is frustrated with the lack of effort of the Sheriff’s Department. “They’ve kind of pulled back,” she said.
The Sheriff’s Dept. has Kasandra listed as a missing person. A
spokesperson said last week that there was no evidence of foul play.
According to the Poshepny family’s website missingkasandrarosep.com,
“Huffman’s family has been contacted via Facebook along with his
friends. Not one single person has responded, nor does anyone seem to be
alarmed at his disappearance.”
Huffman moved to the area from Missouri about a year ago. The
relationship with Cassandra, which Jess Poshepny described as “off and
on,” began soon afterwards.
With any information in this case, call the Sonoma County Sheriffs
Department at 565.2867 or contact Poshepny at 243.3062 or
jess.poshepny@gmail.com.
http://news.sonomaportal.com/2011/07/21/no-word-from-missing-glen-ellen-teenager/

Poster's Note: No real new info here just a bump up...


SONOMA COUNTY -- Friends and family continue to search for a girl who
went missing from the Sonoma County area on July 8. Kasandra Rose
Poshepny, 16, is thought to be in or around the Santa Rosa area,
specifically near Olive Park. However, the girl's aunt, Janine McKay, of
Clearlake contacted Lake County Publishing on Friday in case her niece
comes into the area. Poshepny is described as being 5-feet 3-inches tall with long brown
hair. McKay said her niece has naturally curly hair but straightens it
on occasion. According to the website, www.missingkasandrarosep.com, Poshepny
lives with her father in Glen Ellen and goes to Sonoma Valley High
School. Those searching for her think she may be with her boyfriend
Robbie. Anyone with information regarding the missing girl's or her
boyfriend's whereabouts is urged to contact Officer Patrick at the
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office at 565-2867.

http://www.record-bee.com/ci_18533653

One family's tenacity ultimately ensured the Saturday return of
16-year-old Glen Ellen resident Kasandra Poshepny, who was reported
missing July 9.
The girl was found with her 19-year-old
boyfriend Robbie Huffman at a makeshift campsite near Pine Creek
Reservoir in Santa Rosa.
Huffman was arrested on charges of
felony cruelty to a child, unlawful sexual intercourse and contributing
to the delinquency of a minor. He is being held on $25,000 bail and is
set to be arraigned on Tuesday, July 26, at 1:30 p.m.
"It's
over, I'm so glad it's over," said her sister Jess Poshepny, 26, who led
an ambitious media and social media campaign to spread the word about
Kasandra. The sleepless nights and long days of chasing down leads paid
off with an emotional reunion on Saturday, which might not have occurred
without the family's fierce determination.
The story began July
8, when the petite brunette teen left the Glen Ellen home of her
father, Tony Poshepny, for summer school classes at Sonoma Valley High
School. By some accounts, she was upset that day, but the exact truth is
blurred by conflicting reports from friends and family. What is known
is that she left the Valley with Huffman in a late 1980s Nissan pick-up
truck, headed for the Healdsburg home of Steve and Nicole Knox,
Huffman's cousins.
According to the Knoxes, shortly after
arriving, Kasandra got upset and took off on foot, disappearing into the
rural property, leaving her belongings behind.
"Nicole Knox
kept reiterating that Robbie had her purse," said Jess Poshepny, who
added that she was told by the Knoxes that Huffman became angry when his
cousins called the Sheriff's Office to report the teen as missing.
Huffman
has a previous arrest record for selling marijuana in San Francisco.
While the Knoxes told Jess Poshepny they did in fact call law
enforcement, the Sheriff's Office told her they never received the call.
Huffman took off in his truck, returning later in the evening with Kasandra. Both appeared to have calmed down.
The
next morning, Nicole and Steve Knox went into town for party supplies
around 10 a.m., and when they returned, Kasandra was gone, along with
Huffman and his truck. When Tony Poshepny's daughter didn't return home
as expected that night, he went to the Sheriff's Office and reported the
teen as missing.
Law enforcement was quick to classify Kasandra
as "voluntarily missing," a runaway. Lt. Dennis O'Leary with the Sonoma
County Sheriffs Investigation Unit, said 75 people were reported
missing during the month of June across the county.
"We see a lot of runaways that usually come back on their own," he said.
Kasandra's
sister, Jess, refused to wait for police to act, quickly setting up tip
lines, talking to friends of the couple, wandering into the rarely seen
corners of Sonoma County's homeless encampments - every unconfirmed
sighting was followed. For two weeks the search went deeper into the
mysterious life of Huffman, a native of Missouri who police call a
"drifter." Huffman captured Kasandra's heart in the year they dated,
although her friends and family knew almost nothing about him, Jess
Poshepny said.
The focus on Huffman ultimately played a critical role in bringing Kasandra home, as key witnesses reported seeing him, not her.
On
Friday, July 22, Jess Poshepny was getting dinner ready when the phone
rang. The anonymous caller said she knew where Huffman was staying, at a
camp he constructed south of the Sutter Medical Center complex on
Chanate Road. Jess Poshepny had received dozen of calls like this, and
after two weeks of chasing futile tips she had become somewhat jaded.
"But this girl just kept calling back," she said.
Finally,
the woman called and said she was standing on Beverly Way in Santa Rosa
next to Huffman's truck. "She said, 'Are you guys coming?'" Jess
Poshepny recounted. She was on her way.
Jess Poshepny
immediately called her aunt, who lived closer to the location, who raced
out into the night to the rural Santa Rosa street. Sure enough, the
primer-gray pick-up truck the family had searched for high and low, was
sitting there - and inside, on the floor of the passenger seat, was what
appeared to be Kasandra's purse.
There was no sign of the
couple, but the tipster said they had set up camp deep in the bushes off
the road. The family immediately called police, who came out to the
site but said they couldn't search the deep brush at night, not knowing
who or what might be out there, Jess Poshepny said.
So the
family spent the night camped out in a car next to the truck, unwilling
to risk letting Kasandra slip through their fingers again. The next
morning, police returned and opened the truck. The purse inside was
confirmed to be Kasandra's, complete with her identification card,
banking information and cellphone. Deputies began interviewing neighbors
in the area, several of whom said they had seen Huffman, that he told
them he was a student at the junior college who could not afford an
apartment. No one could confirm seeing Kasandra, Jess Poshepny said.
"They said they saw him with a girl, but it definitely wasn't Kasandra,"
she said.
The truck was strewn with clothing and trash; the
back cab held bags of potting soil, which at first seemed like an
ominous sign to Jess Poshepny. "My first thought was that he killed her
and buried her," she told the Index-Tribune after the truck had been
found but before Kasandra was recovered.
Law enforcement towed
the truck to be tested for evidence, and made plans to send up the
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter, Henry One, to conduct an
aerial search of the reservoir area. The helicopter spotted a camp and
directed deputies to the location, said O'Leary. Deep in the brush,
police discovered Kasandra Poshepny and Huffman.
Exactly why the teen took off remains a mystery.
But on Saturday, the whys didn't matter for Kasandra's family, who raced to greet her.
We are happy to have her home and she is very happy to be home," Jess Poshepny said.


http://www.sonomanews.com/News-2011/Family-helps-find-missing-teen/