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Il!f ^ o rtla n h (©Hscruer
March 27, 2013
A moment o f silence is taken during an observance at the base o f Rocky Butte to mark the two year anniversary o f the death o f Yashanee Vaughn the 14-year-old
Portland girl who was murdered by her l& year-old boyfriend Parrish Bennette Jr. Vaughn's m other (center) bows her head in prayer during last week's ceremony.
When Girls Go Missing
On a mission to stop violence against women
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Red balloons drifted into grey skies
over the tree-tops at Rocky Butte in
memory of Yashanee Vaughn.
Family and friends gathered last week
to say a few words and demand justice
for the 14-year-old girl who two years
ago went missing and was found mur
dered by her 16-year-old boyfriend
Parrish Bennette Jr.
For four months, the teen’s family
searched for their daughter, only to find
bitter closure when defense attorneys
la te r re le a se d w here th e ir c lie n t,
Bennette, had dumped the girl’s body
after he shot her in the head in the
bedroom of his northeast Portland home
on March 19, 2011.
Though Bennette pleaded guilty to
first-degree manslaughter and was sen
tenced to 18 years in prison, Vaughn’s
family is still seeking justice for the
silence that surrounded the whereabouts
of their child.
“How can you know where a body is
and not say anything?” said Yashanee’s
grandmother Reynelda Hayes. “T hat’s
cruel and cold.” Her family is working
to pass a law in the Oregon Legislature
that would require attorneys to release
information early in the case of a miss
ing person.
When police efforts were not enough,
Vaughn’s family turned to the National
W om en’s Coalition Against Violence
and E x p lo ita tio n (N W C A V E ), a
Vancouver-based non-profit that help
families locate missing children as well
as inform and educate the public and
prevent violence against women.
“There was a beautiful girl with a
smile that needed to be found,” said the
particularly teenagers, who fall victim
to violence, sex-trafficking, and exploi
tation. Her story is motivation to con
tinue the campaign to end violence.
Three other families of northwest
teens are currently searching for their
daughters. Raven Furlong, 17, of Au
rora, Co. vanished in February; Kara
Michelle Bart (left) and her non-profit, National Women’s Coalition Against Violenc
and Exploitation (NWCAVE), helps families locate m issing children and works to
inform and educate the public about violence against women issues, sex-traffick
ing and other forms o f exploitation.
g ro u p ’s p resid en t and co- founder
Michelle A. Bart, about the support she
and her organization have continually
lent Vaughn’s family and friends.
Bart said Yashanee’s story is a re
minder to the dangers faced by women,
Nichols, 19, o f Colorado Springs, miss
ing since October; and Kayla Croft-
Payne, 18, missing from Washington
State since November.
NWCAVE believes there is a link
between the missing girls: The three
young women had profiles on a ques
tionable modeling networking website
prior to their disappearances.
“We have no proof that they are
related,” said Bart. “We are just a non
profit,” but the figures are hard to
discredit, she said. “When you have so
many missing girls throughout the coun
try and all have one common denomina
tor of a website, and not Facebook or
Twitter, we all have that, but a model
ing site and profiles exploiting them
selves, that’s a red flag.”
According to Bart, there have been
13 to 15 cases across the country linked
to the modeling website Model May
hem, where girls who have posted pro
files have gone missing, been found
dead or survived to tell their story. The
website received an “F” from the Better
Business Bureau. She believes a federal
Investigation is warranted.
While NWCAVE lacks the investiga
tive capabilities of law enforcement or
the FBI, they make up for it through
their dedication, time and effort. “These
three cases have come to us for help
because nobody else would listen to
them,” she said.
The organization is keeping in con
tact with the girls’ families. They are
receiving tips, following leads, getting
the word out, posting photos and most
importantly, not letting the girls leave
the public’s eye.
“We owe it to these families to do
whatever we can do to find out what’s
continued
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