BELLEVILLE - Two 17-year-old Belleville girls are still missing two weeks after they disappeared, and authorities have reason to believe they may have made it as far as Sacramento, Calif.
Larissa Aunet and Josey Scoville were last seen in Belleville at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. They left town in a 1998 Saab 900 S-Turbo two-door hatchback with the Wisconsin license plate number 911 TYG. According to Larissa's mother, the girls took with them a six-month-old cat.
Later that night, police in Stockton, Ill., made a traffic stop on Aunet and Scoville and then released them, just before the girls were entered in a nationwide database for missing people.
The next day, Oct. 3, Nebraska State Patrol stopped their car, cited Scoville for speeding and then released them. Police here aren't sure why the patrol officer let them go and apparently didn't run their names in the nationwide database of missing persons.
Last week, on Oct. 11, a resident in Sacramento called Belleville police to report he'd found some of the girls' clothing and identifying papers in his carport.
"It's a runaway case," said Belleville Police Sgt. Bill Eichelkraut. "We still think that they left on their own."
There's no indication of foul play, that the girls were having problems at home or were even planning a trip, he said. They also apparently didn't take much money with them.
It isn't illegal to run away, so police are just helping the parents locate their daughters.
"We just want them to be found safe, and to be returned home to town here," Eichelkraut said.
Anyone with information about Aunet or Scoville is encouraged to contact Belleville police by emailing bellevillepolice@villageofbelleville.com or by calling (608) 424-3129.
Larissa Aunet and Josey Scoville were last seen in Belleville at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. They left town in a 1998 Saab 900 S-Turbo two-door hatchback with the Wisconsin license plate number 911 TYG. According to Larissa's mother, the girls took with them a six-month-old cat.
Later that night, police in Stockton, Ill., made a traffic stop on Aunet and Scoville and then released them, just before the girls were entered in a nationwide database for missing people.
The next day, Oct. 3, Nebraska State Patrol stopped their car, cited Scoville for speeding and then released them. Police here aren't sure why the patrol officer let them go and apparently didn't run their names in the nationwide database of missing persons.
Last week, on Oct. 11, a resident in Sacramento called Belleville police to report he'd found some of the girls' clothing and identifying papers in his carport.
"It's a runaway case," said Belleville Police Sgt. Bill Eichelkraut. "We still think that they left on their own."
There's no indication of foul play, that the girls were having problems at home or were even planning a trip, he said. They also apparently didn't take much money with them.
It isn't illegal to run away, so police are just helping the parents locate their daughters.
"We just want them to be found safe, and to be returned home to town here," Eichelkraut said.
Anyone with information about Aunet or Scoville is encouraged to contact Belleville police by emailing bellevillepolice@villageofbelleville.com or by calling (608) 424-3129.