Volunteers have launched a community effort to assist Middlebury police in locating a 17-year-old high school student, who was last seen by friends and family Wednesday.
Rebecca Ball, who is white with blue eyes and short light-brown hair, was seen around 4 p.m. March 29 while walking near the southern end of Wright Park and the Trail Around Middlebury trailhead after leaving an appointment in the area. She was wearing a red flannel shirt, black pants and a green neck tie, according to police, and was not carrying a coat, nor a phone.
Middlebury Police Sgt. Jason Covey said that authorities believe Ball, who is autistic, may have left the appointment feeling dysregulated. “It sounds like maybe she didn’t really want to be at (the appointment),” Covey said. “It’s not uncharacteristic of her to seek space to cool down, which was our understanding of how this began.”
Nearly a dozen agencies, including Vermont State Police, contributed to efforts to locate Ball late last week, covering 900 acres in and around Middlebury on Friday alone, according to state police. Police said Friday that Ball’s disappearance was not suspicious, but there were concerns for her welfare.
Formal search efforts ceased Saturday night after state police wrote that “ongoing investigation has identified the possibility that Ball may be evading efforts to be located.” According to Covey, Middlebury police continue to investigate Ball’s disappearance and official searches may resume if new information points toward a particular area.
Meanwhile, a community-led volunteer search group continues daily to look for Ball, reporting back to Middlebury police. Amanda Vincent, a Middlebury resident helping to coordinate the search, said the group began by going door-to-door on Friday, seeking information on Ball’s disappearance, and more than 50 people searched Middlebury on foot on Saturday, tracking their steps and reporting data to Middlebury police.
In a comment on a Facebook page helping to coordinate the search, Jeanne Fair, Ball’s mother who lives in Iowa, wrote that “the best way to communicate with my daughter is in a calm and even voice.”
“I want her to come home,” Fair said in an interview. “I can’t imagine what she’s going through being cold and hungry and alone and without her medications. I’m living a parent’s nightmare.”
Daniel Ball, Ball’s father, said he has been staying at their apartment in Middlebury since Ball disappeared, following instructions from police to wait at home in case his daughter returns there.
“Everyone keeps telling me it’s normal for someone around her age to try to do independent stuff like that,” he said. “But when you’re dealing with a child with a disability, and she was on medications, which she hasn’t taken at least since last Wednesday, it really does change the equation quite a bit.”
Daniel Ball said that if his daughter were “hiding out with somebody, and they haven’t brought her forward because of fear of repercussions at this point, (don’t) worry about that because right now the entire effort is to get her home safe.”
Police said they encourage Middlebury residents and business owners to review any outdoor security camera footage they may have access to and search any unsecured outbuildings, vehicles or structures where the missing teen may have taken refuge.
Anyone who might find Ball should refrain from approaching her directly and should instead call the Middlebury Police Department at 802-388-3191, since Ball may be particularly unnerved by approaching strangers, officials said.
On Sunday night, following the conclusion of official search efforts, hundreds of community members gathered at Triangle Park in Middlebury to hold a vigil for Ball, lighting candles and singing songs as the sun set. At the vigil, Rev. Paul Olsson of St. Stephen’s church offered prayers for Ball’s safe return.
“Most teenagers might be a little intimidated by a church full of mainly adults,” Olsson told VTDigger. “But she’s been coming by herself. Just solo. (Ball) very much wanted to be part of things and has worked pretty much Sunday by Sunday to find ways to be more involved. … She’s shown a great deal of interest in becoming more a part of a community in a deeper way.”
