SHARON WEST - 14 yo - Labelle (Gulf Coast/LA border) TX

Officers seek help in finding missing teen
August 02, 2011 10:09 AM



JEFFERSON COUNTY - The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is asking for help in finding a missing teenage girl.

Sharon West, 14, lives in the Labelle-Fannett area.

She was last seen at about 2 a.m. Saturday, July 30, at a home in the Labelle-Fannett area. She was staying with a family friend when she was reported missing, according to the Sheriff's Office.

She is about 5'6" and weighs 115. Her hair is deep red on top with purple underneath. She has a mole below her left eye.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office says it's unable to verify if criminal activity was involved in the status of the missing juvenile.

If anyone has information about this missing juvenile, please contact Detective Gary Jones at (409) 835-8411, or if the missing juvenile is seen please contact a local law enforcement agency at 911.

Read more: http://www.kfdm.com/articles/missing-44072-fannett-office.html#ixzz1Tt3mwXUV

Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said midday
Tuesday that the department has been unable to verify several reported
sightings of missing 14-year-old Sharon West.
West,
who disappeared Saturday morning from a friend's house in Fannett, was
last heard from via a text message sent to a friend around 5:20 that
morning. Investigators will return this afternoon to an area off of FM
365 where she is believed to have sent that text message.
West's
mother, who lives in Irving, has also arrived in Jefferson County to
assist with the investigation, said sheriff's office spokesman Rod Carroll.
Carroll asks residents to keep looking for West and report any possible sightings to law enforcement.

Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/crime/article/Update-Investigators-to-return-Wednesday-to-spot-1693787.php#ixzz1U0dyK1yh

JEFFERSON COUNTY - The search for a missing teenager in Jefferson County will now expand to the air.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office began using a helicopter at about 11:30 a.m Friday to search for Sharon West, 14.






The teen was last seen at about 2 a.m. on Saturday, July 30 at a
family friend's home where she was staying in the Labelle-Fannett area.

The aerial search is taking place in an area off Highway 365 and
Labelle Road near a soccer field where she last sent a text message.

The Marine Division of the Sheriff's Office is searching an area along Taylors Bayou near Labelle Road.

Investigators have elevated Sharon West's status from Missing to Missing/Endangered.

If you have any information about the missing teenager call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at (409) 835-8411.




Read more: http://www.kfdm.com/articles/search-44143-jefferson-county.html#ixzz1UB3f2Usv

Update, 3:30 p.m.:
Neither a search from the air nor one
from the ground gave investigators answers Friday as they searched for a
14-year-old girl missing from the Fannett area.
Authorities in Jefferson County continued their search Friday for missing teenager Sharon West,
using a helicopter near FM 365 and Labelle Road and combing the area of
the nearby Taylor Bayou, though both searches turned up empty.
"We need some direction; we keep going back to the only location we really have," sheriff's office spokesman Rod Carroll said after Friday's search. "We've got to be proactive."
The
area is believed to be the last place West was heard from, via a text
message sent to a friend around 5:20 a.m. last Saturday. She is not
known to have contacted anyone since then, according to the
sheriff's office.
Thursday, the status of West's disappearance was raised from "missing" to "missing endangered."
Investigators
ask the public to remain alert and report any information to the
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 409-835-8411.

Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Update-Aerial-search-turns-up-nothing-in-search-1719946.php#ixzz1UCce5vko

New information led search crews with the Jefferson County
Sheriff's Office back to a soccer field in Fannett Tuesday afternoon to
look for missing 14-year-old Sharon West.
Sheriff's office spokesman Rod Carroll
said investigators had learned that on the night the teenager went
missing, a friend had talked on the phone with West, who said she was in
the field on FM 365 near Labelle Road.
Previously, the only
information in West's disappearance was a text message sent to a friend
around 5:20 a.m. that indicated she was at a bridge, believed to be on
the same property as the soccer fields. West's prepaid cellphone has
since died.
West was last seen July 30 around 2 a.m. at a family
friend's house in Fannett where she had been living for about three
months. The teen is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and about 115 pounds.
Her hair is deep red on top with purple underneath, and she has a mole
below her left eye.
Investigators continue to ask the public to be alert and report any possible sightings to the sheriff's office at 409-835-8411.





Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/New-information-leads-crews-back-to-field-in-1795253.php#ixzz1UaBImz00

UPDATE: Search for missing 14-year-old will resume in morning



By Jessica Lipscomb



Updated 08:58 p.m., Tuesday, August 9, 2011



Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/UPDATE-Search-for-missing-14-year-old-will-1795253.php#ixzz1UchwJbJy

UPDATE: The search will continue at 6 a.m. Wednesday with canine search dogs, and the ground search team will resume at 7 a.m.

Jefferson County search crews were out again today looking for a missing teenager Sharon West.





Teams of investigators searched the Seabreeze Soccer Field on Highway 365 with dogs, horses and a helicopter this morning.

Divers searched the LNVA Canal and the Drainage District No. 6 Canal.

Investigators tell us three search dogs had a lead, but came up with nothing.

Now search crews have ruled out the soccer fields as a possibility of finding West there.

Records show Sharon West last used her cell phone in the early morning hours on the day she went missing.

She is described as 5'6" tall, with a small build.

She has dark red hair on top, died purple underneath and a mole under her left eye.

Please call police if you see anyone matching this description.


http://www.kcentv.com/story/15246274/investigators-continue-search-for-missing-teen

A $1,000 reward will be offered for information that could lead to a 14-year-old girl missing since late July.






Beaumont Crime Stoppers is offering the reward to help find Sharon West,
who has been missing since July 30. She was last seen at about 2 a.m.
at a family friend's house where she had been living for the last
three months.

The two-week-long search has included helicopters, search dogs, ATVs and ground crews.





Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/1-000-reward-offered-for-information-on-missing-2015376.php#ixzz1V84eZtpO

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Update-Sheriff-s-office-following-up-on-new-2015376.php

Update:

Since the Beaumont Crime Stoppers announced a $1,000 reward for information in the case of 14-year-old Sharon West, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has received several tips.

According to Rod Carroll, the sheriff's office is following up on those leads. In the past few days, deputies have been making home visits to registered sex offenders in Jefferson County in an attempt to locate West.

August 31, 2011 at 10:03 am


Update: The Jefferson
County Sheriff’s Office concluded that the cellphone found in the
soccer fields in Fannett where missing teen Sharon West was last seen
known to be is not the girl’s.



Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Rod Carroll said
the phone was found yesterday and turned over to the department’s
Criminal Investigation Division.

“We would like to thank the community for coming forward and
assisting in the search of the area of the soccer fields,” Carroll said
in a news release. “We are continuing to follow leads given to
Crimestoppers at 833-TIPS.”

Now-15-year-old West went missing from the Fannett area July 30.

Two friends said she contacted them by phone around 6 a.m. that
morning saying she was at the soccer fields. No one has reported hearing
from her since.
http://blog.beaumontenterprise.com/newsworthy/2011/08/31/cell-phone-found-in-field-where-sharon-west-went-missing/

Sharon West, Missing Texas Teen, Vanishes Without A Trace


A distraught mother in southeastern Texas is trying to locate her
15-year-old daughter who disappeared under mysterious circumstances more
than a month ago.


"I can't even describe how I am feeling. I miss her so much. I just
want my baby to come home," Sandra West told The Huffington Post.


West's daughter, Sharon West, has not been seen since July 30. The
teen had been staying with family friends in Fannett, an unincorporated
town about an hour northeast of Houston. Her living arrangements there
were temporary while her mom attempted to secure a job.
Sharon West's friend, Austin Meaux, last saw her at the residence in
the 11100 Block of Gaulding Road at about 2:00 a.m. He said she was
awake and still there when the rest of the family went to sleep.


According to Chuck Foreman, a private investigator based out of
Austin who has volunteered to assist in the case, West sent a text
message to a friend at about 5:20 a.m., saying she was at the Seabreeze
Youth Club's soccer field, a couple of miles from where she was staying.



Roughly 40 minutes later, West used her cellphone to contact another
friend and again indicated she was at the soccer field. According to
police the area is a popular hangout area for kids. West did not contact
any other friends after that and her cellphone died shortly thereafter.

What happened to Sharon West after those calls remains a mystery.


"I don't believe she ran away," Foreman told The Huffington Post,
noting West did not take any clothing or personal belongings -- other
than her cellphone -- with her.


"This is out of character for her," Sandra West added. "She would have contacted us."


Foreman said the soccer field is situated on a somewhat busy road and he fears the teen may have been abducted.


"I suspect foul play and I'm afraid something bad happened to her," he said.


Without many clues a frustrated sheriff's office has struck only dead
ends in its search for the teen. They have conducted land and aerial
searches, but thus far nothing of interest has been found.
On Tuesday, Foreman and West's family members organized a community search near the soccer field.


"We had seven fire departments out there and almost 100 citizens," Foreman said. "It was a huge search."


Searchers did find a cellphone during the search but police say it is not the phone West was carrying when she disappeared.


The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the lead agency on the case,
is working with a representative from the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children. They have been making home visits to area sex
offenders and have reclassified the case from "missing" to "missing
endangered."


Sandra West said she is grateful for all the support but she is upset
that the sheriff's department did not issue an Amber Alert when her
daughter was first reported missing.


"They said her case didn't meet the criteria," West said.


The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office did not return calls for comment from The Huffington Post.


According to The Beaumont Enterprise,
the sheriff's office said cases must meet specific guidelines for an
alert to be issued. Those guidelines, according to the Enterprise, are:

• Law enforcement must confirm that an abduction has taken place;
  
• The child is at risk of serious injury or death;
  
• There is sufficient descriptive information of child, captor or captor’s vehicle;
  
• The child must be 17 years old or younger.
  

"It's not right," Foreman said. "She has been missing weeks now and
we have nothing. If [the authorities] had taken this more seriously from
the start they might have found something."


Sandra West agreed.


"They have nothing. They haven't found anything. She's just vanished," West said.


Sharron West is described as a white female, 5'6" tall, 115 lbs.,
with deep red hair on top of her head and purple underneath. She has a
mole below her left eye. Anyone with information is asked to contact
Beaumont Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS or the Jefferson County
Sheriff’s Office at 409-835-8411. A Facebook page, "Help Find Sharon West" has also been created.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/sharon-west-missing-texas-teen_n_945662.html

A 14-year-old girl with a history of running away has been missing in
Texas for more than a month--and no one has any clue where she could
have gone.

Sharon West was last seen July 30 in Fannett, Texas, by her boyfriend;
he was going to bed around 2 a.m., and she said she wanted to stay
awake. West was staying at the boy's house for three months while her
mother went to look for work in Dallas, about five hours away, according
to Deputy Rod Carroll, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's
Office.

Around 5 a.m., West sent text messages to friends from a soccer field
near her boyfriend's house, telling them to come hang out with her
there. By 6:30 a.m., she had sent the last text, and no one has seen her
since, Carroll said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-14-year-missing-july/story?id=14436117

A "Help Find Sharon West" Facebook page for the Texas teen who
vanished in July, has been set up. Still, there are no clues into her
disappearance.
For every parent, the news that any member of their
family goes missing, especially a child, is gut wrenching, and becomes a
living nightmare.
For Sandra West, the bad dream began on the night of July 30 when she received word that her daughter had not returned home.
While the mom worked towards obtaining a stable living and work situation, the missing Texas teen lived with family friends in Fannett. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary.
Austin Meaux, a friend of Sharon West said he saw her about 2 am and
she was still up in the residence when the rest of the family went to
bed that night.
According to Chuck Foreman, a private investigator
who is actively assisting in the search for the missing teenager, he
fears the worst. Hopefully, he and authorities are assisted further by
the Facebook page set up.
"I don't believe she ran away. Noting
West did not take any clothing or personal belongings -- other than her
cellphone -- with her," he told the Huffington Post.
He used
information from friends who said Sharon West sent them text messages
saying she was at a soccer field, a popular gathering place for
teenagers.
But even after a community wide search took place, not one clue was found to explain the mystery of her disappearance.
"I can't even describe how I am feeling. I miss her so much. I just want my baby to come home," said the child's mother.
For now a town and family are banding together to find one of their
own. As time goes by, the prospect for finding a missing person becomes
smaller. Still miracles have happened, and this is no exception.
Visit the "Help Find Sharon West" Facebook page set up to aid in locating the Texas teen who vanished without a trace.

Family Fears missing Teen May Be In Danger
7th September, 2011

Authorities in Jefferson County, Texas are searching for a 14-year-old girl missing for over a month who may be in danger.

Sharon West was last seen around 2:00 am on July 30 at a friend’s
home in Fannett. She was staying with the friend’s family at the time.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, they believe her
cell phone was last used a few hours later to send text messages from
the nearby Seabreeze Soccer Fields area. Sharon has not been heard from
since.
A cell phone was found at the soccer fields on August 30, but Deputy
Rod Carroll said investigators have determined that it was not Sharon’s.
Sharon West

Early in the investigation, authorities conducted extensive ground
and aerial searches, deployed search dogs and questioned registered sex
offenders in the county, but Sharon’s whereabouts and the circumstances
surrounding her disappearance remain a mystery.

Carroll said police have questioned Sharon’s boyfriend and are
continuing to follow leads, but he would not comment on whether any
items of evidentiary value have been uncovered. Besides her phone, none
of her belongings were missing.

Sharon’s mother and a private investigator working with the family
have said it would be out of character for her to stay out of contact
for so long. She is currently classified as a “missing endangered”
juvenile.

According to Carroll, the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children has been assisting with the investigation and a $1,000 reward
has been posted by Beaumont Crime Stoppers. Anyone with information
about Sharon West’s disappearance is asked to contact the Jefferson
County Sheriff’s Office at 409-835-8411 or Crime Stoppers at
409-833-TIPS.
http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/07/family-fears-missing-texas-teen-could-be-in-danger/?hpt=ng_mid

Search continues for Sharon West

Posted:
Sep 30, 2011 6:01 PM EDT


Updated:
Sep 30, 2011 6:41 PM EDT

A distraught southeast Texas mother has not
given up hope finding her 15-year-old daughter who disappeared. Friday
marks 2 months since Sharon West went missing on July 30.

Her mother Sandra West enlisted the help of a private investigator in the search for Sharon but still nothing has turned up.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Rod Carroll
tells 12 News HD they still continue to receive tips each week but
haven't developed solid leads.

The teen was staying with her friend in the
Fannett area. Investigators say according to cell phone records West's
last known location was at the Seabreeze soccer field on FM 365 near
Gaulding Road.

If you have any information that may help
police or if you see Sharon West you are asked to call Beaumont
crimestoppers at (409) 833-TIPS (8477)

PHOTOS OF SHARON WEST

http://www.kiiitv.com/story/15590801/search-continues-for-sharon-west

Investigators say skeletal remains were
found due east of a Jefferson County soccer field where missing teen
Sharon West was last reported.

West went missing July 30th. Phone records
show she was at the Seabreeze Youth Soccer Field on Highway 365 in
Fannett around 5:20 a.m. the morning she disappeared.

Deputy Rod Carroll tells 12News HD a rancher
found a skull in a nearby canal earlier today. He called the Sheriff's
Office and investigators found more bones scattered about 50 yards from
the skull.

Investigators tell 12NewsNow.Com female clothing was found at the scene.

Carroll says investigators contacted West's
father to inform the family of the discovery. Her mother was also
notified of the discovery.

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AT 5 P.M. Friday

At approximately 11:30am, Friday, October 28,
2011, The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office received a call from a
local rancher that he had located a human skull on his property. The
property is located South of Hwy 365 between Labelle Rd and Gaulding Rd.


Responding deputies began a grid search of the area and located additional skeletal remains.

The investigation is continuing at this time. Members of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Crime Scene Lab are on scene.

http://www.kiiitv.com/story/15901197/skeletal-remains-found-near-area-where-missing-teen-last-seen

"The skull was found in an empty canal, he said, and the area was covered in heavy brush. The section of the private property where the bones were found is about three-quarters of a mile off the side of FM 365.

Carroll said teams had looked in the area before and might have been as close as 25 yards from where the skull was found Friday. The heavy vegetation, however, made searching the area difficult, he said."

Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Human-remains-found-near-FM-365-in-Fannett-2241523.php#ixzz1cC2XM59m

Poster's note: It is extremely sad that searchers were so close to finding her and yet didn't. My heart goes out to her family.

Some items found with the skeletal remains of a young woman found
in a South Jefferson County field were identified as "similar to"
things belonging to a Fannett teen who went missing this summer.
Sharon West, 15, was last seen on July 30. Her last phone communication came
from a soccer field near the farm where the remains were found along
with some clothing and personal effects.
West's mother, Sandra West,
told investigators that pajama boxer shorts and glasses appeared to
match things her daughter was wearing before she disappeared, according
to a Jefferson County Sheriff's Office update on the discovery.
However, no positive identification has been made.
Investigators are awaiting the results of DNA testing and dental record comparison
with the skull that was found in a dry canal in a field south of FM 365 between Labelle and Gaulding Roads.

ead more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Missing-Fannett-teen-s-mom-says-clothes-glasses-2243903.php#ixzz1cJCwqLkZ

Sharon West
has been missing since July 30th and authorities suspect that the
remains found Friday in a field in Fannett are the teenager, but they
have not been able to make a positive identification pending DNA
testing.

Jefferson County Deputy Rod Carroll said the
missing teen's mother, Sandra West, helped to identify some things that
belonged to her daughter.

"Pajama boxer shorts, there was some glasses and T-shirt found in the area," Carroll said.

Sandra West said she's sure the remains belong to her daughter.

The private investigator she hired, Chuck
Foreman, told 12 News HD it's time for the missing person's
investigation to enter a new phase.

"We believe items shown to Sandra belonged to
Sharon. we believe there was foul play. we expect a full investigation
by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office," Foreman said speaking on
behalf of the family.

"We're going to take everything that we found
as a whole and all the different items, they're a part of the evidence
chain of the crime scene," said Carroll.

Deputy Rod Carroll says the Jefferson County
Sheriff's Office can't start a criminal investigation until they
positively identifies the remains.
http://www.kiiitv.com/story/15910589/west-family-believe-skeletal-remains-are-sharons-and-wants-investigation

JEFFERSON COUNTY - A private investigator working with the family of
Sharon West told KFDM News the teen's mother and father were called to
the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday and given information
that West's dental records confirm skeletal remains found off Highway
365 are those of the missing teen.

The 14-year-old went missing July 30. She was living at a friend's home in Fannett.

A rancher found a skull Friday, October 28 on his property south of
Highway 365 between Labelle Road and Gaulding Road. Sheriff's
investigators discovered more skeletal remains, along with clothing and
other items. Investigators said the remains are those of a woman under
the age of 25. Sandra West, Sharon's mother, has identified pajama boxer
shorts and glasses as similar to articles Sharon West wore prior to her
disappearance.

The Sheriff's Office was waiting for a comparison of dental records
and DNA of Sharon West before making a positive identification. Dental
identification was expected to take a few days. DNA testing can take
several weeks. No cause of death has been confirmed.



"Sharon's mother and father went down to the Sheriff's Office on
Tuesday and were told that the dental records are a match," said Chuck
Foreman, a private investigator working with the family. "The eyeglasses
and jewelry found at the site were enough but this confirmed it."

The Sheriff's Office told KFDM News any comments would have to come from the family.



Friends of the family have opened an account at Texas First Bank
to help with funeral and other expenses associated with Sharon West's
death. The account name is Benefit for Sharon West. Any branch can
accept donations.

Read more: http://www.kfdm.com/articles/private-45549-family-sharon.html#ixzz1cW3xI9zi

Sharon West's family said they hired private
investigator Chuck Foreman because they felt Jefferson County deputies
weren't digging deeply enough into her missing person's case.

Foreman said the family believes there's foul
play involved and said there's a clue that could lead them to a person
of interest.

Foreman says until he's no longer needed by the family, he's going to help them find out what happened to Sharon.

He said if the Jefferson County Sheriff's
Office doesn't start this criminal investigation, they're going start a
protest until something's done.

"we're waiting to see if they do what we feel what's needed, which is to locate that cell phone of Sharon's."

it was the cell phone that lead to the search of Sharon near the Seabreeze soccer off F-M 365.

and foreman believes that cell phone could lead investigators to finding out who played a role in Sharon's disappearance.

"We want a solid grid search around the
soccer field again and then around the area, if we get permission from
land owners to go in and do a proper search to look for it," Foreman
said

He wants to work with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in the case.

"We asking for them, we're begging for them, please, give this the time and energy so there could be accountability," he said.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Rod Carroll
tells 12 News HD the sheriff's office will not be commenting on this
case until the medical examiner releases the cause of death.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office still
hasn't publicly confirmed that the dental records of Sharon West match
human remains located near Fannett, but Foreman said the family was told
by county investigators that a match was made.

Foreman said he plans to do another search, for the cell phone, if the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office does not.
http://www.kiiitv.com/story/15957017/sharon-wests-family-wants-criminal-investigation

BEAUMONT, Texas - Investigators say remains found in October in Southeast Texas have been identified as a 14-year-old girl missing since July 30.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Friday announced dental records were used to confirm the identity of Sharon West of the Labelle-Fannett area.

The sheriff's office has said West was staying with a family friend when she turned up missing.

The sheriff's office on Oct. 28 received a call from a rancher about a human skull found on his property, in a Labelle field. Pajama boxer shorts and glasses similar to what West had been wearing were located in the area.

Autopsy results are pending.

Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Skeleton-Is-Missing-Texas-Teen-Sharon-West-121312#ixzz1jR1O13qP

A memorial service for Sharon West, the Fannett teen who disappeared nearly six months ago, is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Hamshire, 25304 Highway 124.

Earlier this month, dental records confirmed that female skeletal remains found in Fannett in October belonged to West.

The 14-year-old girl was last seen July 30.

On Oct. 28, investigators found several bones in a brush-filled area a few miles down the road from a soccer field on FM 365 where West was thought to have last made phone contact with friends.

The sheriff's office still does not have autopsy and toxicology reports from the crime lab it is using in the case.

The West investigation hinges largely on the question of whether forensic experts will be able to determine how she died.

Heat and moisture in the weeks after the 14-year-old went missing likely have degraded what could have been important evidence. The area also had been bulldozed in that time span, which could have disrupted the brush around the remains, said Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Rod Carroll.

West's parents aren't sure how her body ended up in the field, an area where Lynn West, her father, says the vegetation is in some places as thick as a wall and as tall as him.

"I'm never going to believe that she walked out to that spot alone," he said in an interview last year. "Never."



Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Memorial-service-for-Fannett-teen-planned-for-2752758.php#ixzz1kieThNXf