Missing Tennessee Girl May Have Been Kidnapped By Acquaintance

Last week, Tennessee nursing student Holly Bobo disappeared after being led into the woods by a man. Now authorities think she may have been kidnapped by someone who knew her.

According to the AP, the Parsons 20-year-old was last seen Wednesday morning, when her brother spotted her walking into the forest with a man wearing camouflage gear. Fox News reports that he initially thought the man was her boyfriend, but called 911 after noticing blood outside the house. Now police and family think she may have been kidnapped by someone familiar with her schedule — says her father, “It might have been somebody close that kind of knew our routine — when I left, and when she left, and when my daughter left to go to school.”

Investigators are asking everybody in Parsons to be on the lookout for anyone acting weird: says Kristin Helm of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, “If somebody is feeling very anxious or acting suspicious, behaving abnormally feeling a lot of anxiety — these are all things that would lead us to believe that this person could be a suspect.” Authorities are also asking for information on anyone “excessively cleaning” or trying to sell a vehicle. Some reports said Bobo’s brother and boyfriend had been ruled out as suspects, but now Helm says that’s not the case.

Bobo’s story is somewhat reminiscent of the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway — both women are young, blond, and conventionally attractive. Unlike Holloway, Bobo has a famous family member — her cousin is country singer Whitney Duncan. Duncan has been pleading via Twitter and on Good Morning America for any information leading to Bobo’s safe return. Terrifying as it is, her disappearance pretty much embodies the Missing White Girl archetype, and it’s sad that not every such crime merits this kind of media blitz. That said, the widespread coverage of her case makes it no less disturbing, and for her sake and her family’s, we hope for an ending that’s happier than Holloway’s.

Holly Bobo’s Kin Not Ruled Out In Disappearance [CBS/AP]

Law Enforcement Continue Search For Tenn. Woman, Have 250 Leads [Fox News]

Search For Holly Bobo: Police Ask Locals To Think About Past Week & To Search [Examiner]

Holly Bobo Search: Country Star Whitney Duncan Pleads For Cousin’s Return [ABC]