In 2016, Lashaya Stine was 16 years old and lived with her family in Aurora, Colorado. Lashaya attended George Washington high school and was known to be a good student and was on the honor roll. Lashaya wanted to study nursing in college and she had recently been selected by the University of Colorado Hospital for an internship.
The evening of July 15 was one of anticipation, as Lashaya was looking forward to a job interview the next day. When her mother Sabrina Jones went to bed that night, it would be the last time she would see her daughter.
The next morning, the family realized that Lashaya was not in the house when they attempted to wake her up for her interview. Her phone went straight to voicemail and attempts to look for her in the neighborhood were unsuccessful. The family contacted the police, who initially treated the case as one of a runaway and it was almost a week later when the police chief, who had been away on vacation returned and took a closer look.
It was during this time, that police also informed the family that they had surveillance video of Lashaya the night she went missing. The video was taken at 2:30 am and Lashaya could be seen walking near East Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street.
Surveillance video of Lashaya walking the night she went missing.
Sabrina believes that Lashaya had gone to meet someone, and was planning on returning to the house, as her clothes, wallet, and phone charger were still in her room. Her window had also been left open which would have allowed her to re-enter her room. Since her disappearance, no known contact has been made by Lashaya to family and friends.
Lashaya's ex-boyfriend and friends were all questioned, but no clues or information came up that moved the case forward, and no one was suspected of any foul play. Various tips came in that pointed to Lashaya being a victim of human trafficking, including sightings of her coming in and out of motels in areas known to be popular in trafficking. In these sightings, she was seen with a man who was thought to have been taking her in and out of Colorado and into different states.
One tipster claimed to have seen Lashaya in a motel and accurately described a distinct scar on her chest. A girl who escaped from trafficking also came forward claiming to have been with Lashaya. Unfortunately, police were never successful in finding her in any of the locations mentioned in the sightings.
In 2019, an age-progressed photo of Lashaya was released:
Age progression photo of Lashaya Stine (Aurora Police)
UPDATE - November 21, 2020
After receiving tips and leads, Aurora police searched a house on 2200 Lansing Street, which is in the same area Lashaya was seen walking the night she disappeared. Police have said she knew the previous residents. Police have searched the house for roughly three days and have brought in equipment that can break through concrete. No news yet has come out of whether anything was found.
Sources:
Aurora Police Twitter
Denver Channel News update
UPDATE - July 16, 2024
Denver FBI today reshared information for Lashaya's case to remind people to keep looking for her. Her mother believes that she was trafficked out of the state and that the night of her disappearance she was going to meet a boy who had become a bad influence on her.
Source: FBI continues investigation 8 years after Lashaya Stine's disappearance
Source: FBI continues investigation 8 years after Lashaya Stine's disappearance
