Alyssa Strittmater, 20 [FOUND SAFE] Cedar Rapids, IA

[Grande]

Iowa City police look for missing woman
January 14, 2009 11:00 EST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa City police are looking for a missing 20-year-old woman who they say sent text messages saying she needed help.

Police say Alyssa Strittmater of Cedar Rapids was out with friends on Tuesday night. At about 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, an acquaintance received several text messages that were apparently from Strittmater.

Police say the messages included "911helpme." They say the tone of the messages indicated that Strittmater may have been abducted by "some guy." Another message referred to "9 o'clock downtown."

Police have been unable to find Strittmater or her car, a red 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix with Iowa license plate 446-PRB. She is described at white, 5-feet 4-inches tall, 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

http://www.kgan.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.ia/2463a83a-www.kgan.com.shtml

[Grande]

Updated January 14. 2009 9:50AM
Text messages indicate missing woman needed help
The Gazette

http://i44.tinypic.com/o7ozk6.jpg
Alyssa Strittmater

IOWA CITY - Iowa City police say they are actively searching for a Cedar Rapids woman who went missing Wednesday morning.

According to police, Alyssa Strittmater, 20, of Cedar Rapids is believed to have been using the bus service in Iowa City with friends and coworkers last night when she sent out text messages indicating she was in trouble.

Police have since been unable to locate Strittmater or her vehicle and are looking for help in finding her.

Strittmater is a white female, 5 foot 4 inches tall, 145 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. She was driving a red 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix 4-door, IA license 446PRB.

At about 1:49 a.m., an acquaintance of Strittmater's received several instant text messages via Facebook that apparently originated from Strittmater. The messages included, "911 helpme." The tone of the messages indicated that Strittmater may have been abducted by "some guy." Another message may have referred to a landmark, "9 o'clock downtown."

Police have spoken with friends, family, and roommates but have been unable to locate Strittmater.

Iowa City Police are asking for anyone with information as to the current whereabouts of Alyssa Strittmater or her vehicle to call 319-356-5276.

Additionally, anyone that has had any contact with Strittmater since the evening of Tuesday, January 13, should contact the Iowa City Police.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090114/NEWS/901149991/1006

[Grande]

Iowa City police searching for missing 20-year-old
the Press-Citizen • January 14, 2009

Iowa City Police are working with other area law enforcement agencies in an attempt to find a missing Cedar Rapids woman who may have been abducted.

Police said Alyssa Strittmater, 20, was in downtown Iowa City Tuesday night and went to several bars with some friends and coworkers. Police said Strittmater has not been seen since.

Sgt. Troy Kelsay said an acquaintance of Strittmater called the police at 1:57 a.m. Wednesday and told police he had received several text messages via Facebook that apparently came from Strittmater. One of the messages was “911 helpme,” police said. Another message apparently referred to a landmark, "9 o'clock downtown," according to police.

Police said the tone of the messages indicated that Strittmater might have been abducted.

“The sender was indicating that she was in trouble; that she had been abducted, possibly assaulted by somebody,” Kelsay said.

Iowa City Police are working with other agencies, including the Cedar Rapids Police to try to find Strittmater. Officers have spoken with her friends, family and roommates. Kelsay said investigators have been unable to locate Strittmater or her car, a red 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix sedan with an Iowa plate number 446PRB.

Kelsay said he did not know which bars Strittmater was at Tuesday night, but said it was likely she was at more than one.

According to Strittmater’s Facebook profile, she is a Kirkwood Community College and Northern Iowa Area Community College alum. Kelsay said Strittmater works in Coralville.

Strittmater is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 145 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Police are asking anyone who might have seen Strittmater or received a phone call or text message from her since last night to notify the police.

”If somebody got a text message from her or a telephone call from her, we’d like to know that,” Kelsay said. “If you’ve had any contact with her since last evening, call us and help us locate her.”

http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20090114/NEWS01/90114004/1079

[Grande]

http://www.facebook.com/people/Alyssa-Strittmater/332300100#

[annalyzer]

Found Safe

http://www.kimt.com/news/local/37576309.html

Iowa Woman Found Unharmed KIMT News 3

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Iowa City police say a woman they were looking for has been found unharmed. Police say 20-year-old Alyssa Strittmater of Cedar Rapids contacted them Wednesday morning after they put out a news release asking for help in finding her.

Police say that Strittmater was out with friends Tuesday night but that an acquaintance received several text messages through Facebook about 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday that were apparently from Strittmater.

Police say the messages included "911helpme," and indicated she may have been abducted. Police say that Strittmater told them she was not the victim of foul play and that she was unaware of the Facebook postings.

[sarahhod]

Local police using Facebook more in investigations

Regina Zilbermints - The Daily Iowan

Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: Metro (http://www.dailyiowan.com/news/2009/01/22/Metro/)


When Alyssa Strittmater went missing last week, Iowa City police tried every traditional option available to them. However, something less traditional - a Facebook message - closed the case, authorities said.

In searching for the woman - who reportedly disappeared while bar-hopping with friends downtown - police used the popular social-networking site to locate the 20-year-old after traditional investigating, including calling and checking addresses, didn't work, said Iowa City police Lt. Jim Steffen, who is in charge of investigations.

Eventually, investigators sent a message to Strittmater's Facebook account, received a response, and discovered the woman was unharmed, Steffen said.

"It really helped us out," he said. "As soon as we posted that message on her Facebook, we got a response."

Police using tools such as Facebook isn't unusual, particularly in the last couple years, authorities said. While use of social-networking sites is done on a case-by-case basis, "we're aware of those sites and if it's beneficial, we will utilize them," Steffen said.

"As technology develops, it both brings problems and helps us in our jobs," he said. "We try to stay abreast of new things on the Internet that can help us in the performance of our duties."

After the police conclude an investigation, Facebook has proven to be a useful tool for attorneys as well.

"You'd be surprised what people put on their Facebook pages," said Dan Vondra, a local attorney who has used Facebook when preparing for trial.

Information found on Facebook can be used in both criminal and civil cases, by plaintiff, prosecution, and defense attorneys, he said.

In one instance, at issue during a harassment case was whether the communication was unwanted. The alleged victim's Facebook page could lead one to believe the communication was welcome - not unwanted - and this information was valuable at trial, Vondra said.

Anything on a Facebook page can be used to contest a witness's credibility and character for truth telling, he pointed out. It can even be useful in disputes of fact, such as determining whether the witness attended a certain event.

"As an attorney, you want to know about a witness," he said. "It's really an open book." There's a lot of things you could mine from a Facebook page."

Vondra cautions that using sources similar to Facebook has its limitations.

While a person will usually admit to what is on her or his Facebook page - making the evidence admissible in trial - if he or she denies it, it is difficult to prove that he or she was actually the person making the postings.

Still, "in general, it's useful," Vondra said. "If it's a person who's a witness that will admit to things on their page, you're getting information you may not otherwise have."

http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2009/01/22/Metro/Local.Police.Using.Facebook.More.In.Investigations-3593394.shtml