[dropcap]S[/dropcap]unday evening at noon, a group of about 25 people gathered in the parking lot across from Murphy’s in Bayside, to help with the search efforts for 22-year-old Erin Henry.
Henry is a HSU student who has not had contact with anyone since November 25. Below is the press release from the Arcata Police Department:
“On November 30th, 2017, Erin Elizabeth Henry, a Humboldt State University student, was reported missing to the Arcata Police Department.
Henry was last seen by a roommate in the 100 Blk of Samoa Blvd on 11/25/2017. She has not been seen or heard from since. Henry’s wallet, cell phone and car were located at her residence. Henry had recently suffered a broken ankle and is not able to walk without the aid of crutches or a knee scooter.
Henry’s disappearance is out of character, according to friends and family.
Henry is described as a 22-year-old white female, 5 foot 8 inches, thin build with blond hair and hazel eyes. Henry has a distinctive tattoo on her left forearm of a large red poppy flower with the inscription “Anna Rowland 1993-2016” written along the stem.
Anyone who has seen Erin Henry or has information as to her whereabouts is asked to call the APD.”
The search party was made possible through Henry’s friends, students as well as a few faculty from HSU’s Theatre Department who knew Henry personally.
Henry’s disappearance is odd for various reasons–one is that she is a few weeks from graduating.
In addition, her personal belongings such as her phone and wallet were found in her room. Henry’s mother phoned one of Henry’s roomates when she was unable to reach her daughter. Henry recently broke her ankle, so she has a boot on her foot, as well as crutches and a knee-walker scooter to help her get around.
While the search party gathered in the parking lot, APD officer Richard Bergstresser updated those present on the circumstances of Henry’s disappearance. He also provided aerial-view pictures of the surrounding community where Henry lived.
Fliers shared on social media initially, associated an abusive ex-boyfriend with her disappearance. It appears that Henry may have also believed that someone in a silver car had been following her.
Bergstresser confirmed to the group that the ex-boyfriend originally named a suspect by those who knew Henry, had been ruled out. He also warned the group to be careful on speculating and naming people on social media.
“Get information out, receive information, but try not to speculate,” Bergstresser cautioned.
“We want to break off into two larger groups. One group will go door to door–if they have any information at all, write down their name, address, phone number and a brief description of any information that they have. Later on we will meet back here, where we can share information to follow-up on as we investigate,” Bergstresser said.
Another part of the group would search the neighborhood to see if Henry got into some sort of trouble close by.
The group agreed to meet back in the parking lot at 4:00 p.m. Bergstresser left soon after, to ‘tend to the rest of the city’ and the search party broke off into groups.
As a woman and also HSU alumni, I was more than willing to use my time to assist with any search efforts for Henry.
At 4:00 p.m. the group convened to update officer Bergstresser but nothing substantial was recovered from the search.
Henry’s parents are flying into town to assist with the searches. I will post any information I find on upcoming searches, as well as updates.
There is a Facebook page for Henry to stay updated:
