Nicole Penix Vanzant 27 Missing 1/19/09 Menifee County / KY / BODY FOUND

[bleachedblack]

Police Search For Missing Woman

Posted: Jan 23, 2009 12:41 PM
Police in Menifee County are looking for leads in their search for a woman who hasn't been seen in almost a week.

Police say the family of Nicole Van Sant, 27, reported her missing on Monday. They say Van Sant went on a drive with a friend near Frenchburg and has not been seen since.

Van Sant's family say she has a four-year-old son, is very responsible and has never left without calling first. They say she was not carrying a cell phone or any cash when she disappeared.

Police say they have questioned the last person to see Van Sant, but have not yet developed any solid leads into her whereabouts. They say they have declared her a missing person.

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=9722659&nav=EQlp

*Changed the title/name spelling as per most news reports and family pleas.

[bleachedblack]

Police Search For Missing Woman

Sat., Jan. 24, 2009
Police in Menifee County are looking for leads in their search for a woman who hasn't been seen in almost a week.

Police say the family of Nicole Vanzant, 27, reported her missing on Monday. They say Vanzant went on a drive with a friend near Frenchburg and has not been seen since.

Vanzant's family say she has a four-year-old son, is very responsible and has never left without calling first. They say she was not carrying a cell phone or any cash when she disappeared.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

Police say they have questioned the last person to see Vanzant, an ex-boyfriend, but have not yet developed any solid leads into her whereabouts. They say they have declared her a missing person.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28814473/

[Red]

The old last person to see the missing person in a car MO huh.

I think we know where police are focusing in this case.

27 Year Old Nicole Vanzant Missing Since 01/19/09 in Menifee County, KY
http://missingexploited.com/2009/01/25/27-year-old-nicole-vanzant-missing-since-011909-in-menifee-county-ky/

Police have questioned an ex-boyfriend who was the last person to see Nicole Vanzant. Vanzant has a four year old son and is considered responsible. Family says that she would have called if she went anywhere. Some one has an argument with another in a car, gets out of the vehicle and is never seen again? That in itself sound a bit of a reach.

[bleachedblack]

.......as well they should. IMO

[Nut44x4]

Tons of comments here

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/frenchburg-ky/T09D23LDA3KO74EH9

[Nut44x4]

Is Missing Mom a Runaway or Victim?

Police Continue Their Search of Rugged Kentucky Terrain

The Day Nicole Disappeared

Vanzant, who has a 4-year-old son and was going through a divorce, went shopping with her mother at a local dollar store before getting into the car with Brown that day.

"They were just going to drive around," her mother, Tina Penix, said. "It snowed that day and it was pretty."

But while Penix alleged that Brown dropped her daughter off in a dangerous area known as McCausey Ridge, Brown said he dropped her off on the main road that leads to that area.

Tina Penix said her daughter left town once before without telling anyone, but she called within a day and told them when she'd return. She'd never just left for long periods of time without telling anyone, Penix said, and she did not have a cell phone.

"I'm just worried sick," she said.

Tina Penix hopes her daughter simply took off on her own, but said she's worried Brown might be involved with the disappearance.

"We were trying to keep her away from him," she said. "He was a weirdo."

"I would never hurt her," Brown said. "I love Nicole. I care very much about her. But the girl is hooked on pills, bad."

That night in the car, Brown said, he was trying to talk her out of getting more pills and to "grow up." When she got out of the car, Brown said, "she said 'I'll find someone to buy me a pill.'"


The Menifee County Sheriff's Office has called in several agencies, including the Kentucky State Police and a Texas-based team that searches on horseback, to help with the investigation, though a snowstorm this week has halted the ground search until the weather clears.

The rural county includes Daniel Boone National Forest and is full of trails and cliffs and difficult terrain.

Menifee County Sheriff Rodney Coffey told ABCNews.com that his office's dispatch center had been getting anonymous tips about where she might be, including hiking trails and a county park. They've looked at some hard-to-reach places using the Fire Department's search and rescue team.

"We have so many hiking trails and so many hangouts," he said. "So far we've not turned anything up."

For now, Vanzant's son is staying with his father about an hour and a half away.

"I can't talk to him because I'm scared he's going to ask where Mommy is," Tina Penix said. "I don't want to lie to him."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=6742451&page=2

more comments here>>.
Nichole Vanzant AKA Nichole Penix
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/mount-sterling-ky/TPH83DVFV3PMPB5QA

[Nut44x4]

Fish Fry For Missing Woman Search Efforts
Last Updated: 11:20 PM Mar 7, 2009

Those with hungry stomachs came out in Mt. Sterling today for a good cause.

They came out to help raise money to go to a reward for a missing Menifee County woman.

On Saturday, Country Mart cooked up a lot of fish for a fish fry to help find Nicole Penix Vanzant.

People who stopped by got some good food, but also the chance to give some money.

Money that will be put towards an already $4,000 reward being offered for information as to where Vanzant is.

She's been missing since January.

That's when bystanders last saw her outside a Dollar General Store.

Those who knew her best are hoping for her safe return.

As of Saturday afternoon, people believes several hundred dollars was collected for Nicole.
http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/40903457.html

[MuffyBee]

Family Uses Psychic to Find Missing Daughter     
Posted: 5:48 PM Apr 7, 2009
Last Updated: 6:26 PM Apr 7, 2009
Reporter: Janet Kim
Email Address: janet.kim@wkyt.com
Tina Penix has been searching for her daughter 27-year-old Nicole Penix Vanzant since she disappeared in January, with search and rescue crews taking to the water and Vanzant's own father combing through the woods.

But now, desperate for any information that may bring answers, the family is turning to what they even admit is a long shot and asking a psychic for help.

Ericka Boussarhane is one of two psychics Penix has contacted.

Boussarhane says she's given the Penix family several clues about their daughter's disappearance, including where she believes Nicole's body is buried.

Police are still calling this a missing persons case, not a criminal investigation.

Detectives tell 27 Newsfirst it's not uncommon for families to turn to psychics for help and Boussarhane says she's only trying to help the family, and her services are at no charge.
http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/42625652.html

[Nut44x4]

Officials: Remains Found In Gorge Are Missing Menifee Co. Woman
April 21, 2009 12:37 PM EDT

The human remains found Monday by a hiker in the Red River Gorge were identified Tuesday as those of a Menifee County woman who had been missing since January.

Nicole Penix Vanzant, 27, disappeared from the Frenchburg Hill area in Menifee County in mid-January. Her ex-boyfriend says he dropped her off along the side of the road after an argument.

Police say the hiker found a jawbone at about 3 p.m. Monday near the Iron Bridge and contacted authorities. With the help of cadaver dogs, four more bones were found along the hillside near where the jawbone was found.

State Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Emily Craig was called in to the scene Tuesday, and was able to make an identification of the remains through dental records Tuesday afternoon.

Officials have not yet released a cause of death, and were still on the scene gathering evidence Tuesday afternoon.

So far, police have not said if any charges are pending in the case.

http://www.wlextv.com/global/story.asp?s=10221357

[cookie]

Officials: Remains Found In Gorge Are Missing Menifee Co. Woman
April 21, 2009 12:37 PM EDT

The human remains found Monday by a hiker in the Red River Gorge were identified Tuesday as those of a Menifee County woman who had been missing since January.

Nicole Penix Vanzant, 27, disappeared from the Frenchburg Hill area in Menifee County in mid-January. Her ex-boyfriend says he dropped her off along the side of the road after an argument.

Police say the hiker found a jawbone at about 3 p.m. Monday near the Iron Bridge and contacted authorities. With the help of cadaver dogs, four more bones were found along the hillside near where the jawbone was found.

State Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Emily Craig was called in to the scene Tuesday, and was able to make an identification of the remains through dental records Tuesday afternoon.

Officials have not yet released a cause of death, and were still on the scene gathering evidence Tuesday afternoon.

So far, police have not said if any charges are pending in the case.

http://www.wlextv.com/global/story.asp?s=10221357

could she have fallen down into that gorge and perhaps hit her head and died that way? perhaps the boyfriend is innocent? or broken her leg and couldn't move and passed away that way? I suppose we will have to wait till all the evidence is put together...
at least her family will now know where their loved one is...sad as it is...

[Nut44x4]

I am going to take a wild guess and say.....no.
I search constantly for news reports on unidentified remains, etc. (long story, lol) There were no news reports of this 'body find' until today, when she was identified. They must have found the remains via a tipster or something...see report below>

Missing Mother's Body Found At Red River Gorge
Milford Woman Last Seen In January
POSTED: 4:14 pm EDT April 21, 2009

CINCINNATI -- Remains found at Red River Gorge have been identified as those of a missing Tri-state mother's. Nicole Penix-Van Zant had been missing since January, when a boyfriend said he dropped her off at Frenchburg General Store on a remote stretch of road in Menifee County, Ky.

The 27-year-old had been living just south of Lexington when she went missing, but the former University of Cincinnati student had previously lived with her grandparents and 4-year-old son in Milford.

Authorities first discovered a jawbone at the Powell County attraction, but search dogs helped them discover more body parts.
No information was available about how Van Zant might have died or how her remains were identified.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/19242328/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

OMG THIS SITE is soooooo slow today...arggggggggg.......

OK.....I found this a minute ago......
Crews Look For Clues After Jawbone Found In Red River Gorge
 
Crews were on the scene at the Red River Gorge at the Powell-Menifee County line Tuesday after human remains were found by a hiker on Monday.

Police say the hiker found a jawbone at about 3 p.m. near the Iron Bridge and contacted authorities. With the help of cadaver dogs, four more bones were found along the hillside near where the jawbone was found.

State Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Emily Craig was called in to the scene Tuesday, and she said that she was hopeful to have an identification of the remains through dental records later Tuesday afternoon.

The Powell County coroner said that the remains were of a person who had been dead for less than a year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30327620/

[cookie]

thanks for the info Nut....

this site is very slow...I was kicked out earlier and it took forever to get back in...

[Blue Moon]

I am going to take a wild guess and say.....no.
I search constantly for news reports on unidentified remains, etc. (long story, lol) There were no news reports of this 'body find' until today, when she was identified. They must have found the remains via a tipster or something...see report below>

Missing Mother's Body Found At Red River Gorge
Milford Woman Last Seen In January
POSTED: 4:14 pm EDT April 21, 2009

CINCINNATI -- Remains found at Red River Gorge have been identified as those of a missing Tri-state mother's. Nicole Penix-Van Zant had been missing since January, when a boyfriend said he dropped her off at Frenchburg General Store on a remote stretch of road in Menifee County, Ky.

The 27-year-old had been living just south of Lexington when she went missing, but the former University of Cincinnati student had previously lived with her grandparents and 4-year-old son in Milford.

Authorities first discovered a jawbone at the Powell County attraction, but search dogs helped them discover more body parts.
No information was available about how Van Zant might have died or how her remains were identified.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/19242328/detail.html

Thanks for bring this forward.  The Red River Gorge is a murderer's paradise for disposal of remains.  We took our son there a few years back and while in this same location a carload of young "hoodlums" pulled up and they were drunk and had guns.  They had been firing the guns before they got there and they scared me enough that I took my son and put him in the car and my husband had a fit because we had to leave because of them.  Told him bad combination of liquor and guns and I wasn't going to be shot and never found there.  Bad country.  Remains could be thrown off those mountains and no one would ever find them.

[cookie]

BlueMoon...that would have been so scary! I would have high tailed it outta there as fast as I could!

[Nut44x4]

Map/Frenchburg KY
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Frenchburg%20Hill%20KY&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Top left somewhere around the n/s/e/w symbol...lol
http://www.redrivergorge.com/RRGMap-8.5x14.pdf

Here you can see Iron Bridge...also Indian Creek at top left of map
http://www.pa.uky.edu/~trice/gorge/gorgem.htm

McCausey Ridge...where her Mother believes Brown dropped her off.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Frenchburg%20Hill%20KY&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[Nut44x4]

The Old Iron Bridge

[Edward]

"Her ex-boyfriend says he dropped her off along the side of the road after an argument. "


I do not like him already..
Introduce him to me and I wont like him even more.
jmho

[Nut44x4]

Plans made to honor woman, found dead in Red River Gorge
Posted: 6:04 PM Jun 8, 2009

A funeral is now planned for a young woman who was found dead after being missing for months. Nicole Vanzant will be laid to rest at noon on Thursday at the Herald and Stewart Funeral Home in Mt. Sterling.

The Menifee County woman's body was discovered in the Red River Gorge in April. She went missing in January.

Her father says investigators still have not determined how she died.
http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/47236267.html