Missing Woman: Benedetta "Beth" Bentley--IL--5/23/2010

[Denise Harrison]

Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_BenedettaBentley.pdf

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/01/r_5cbykpbeqo8fqyafnyx2a/index.xml[url]]]http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/01/r_5cbykpbeqo8fqyafnyx2a/index.xml[url][/url]

Woodstock woman reported missing

By BRETT ROWLAND - browland@nwherald.com



WOODSTOCK – Friends and family members are asking for help in the search for a 41-year-old Woodstock resident who last was seen May 23.

Benedetta “Beth” Bentley, 41, of Woodstock, was reported missing May 24 by her husband, police confirmed Monday evening.

Angela Montgomery, a family friend, said Bentley last was seen going to the Amtrak train station in Centralia for a 6 p.m. train.

She did not know whether Bentley boarded the train.

Friends and family are concentrating their search efforts on Mt. Vernon, Centralia and downtown Chicago.

Bentley is described as 5-foot-6-inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds. She has blonde hair and brown eyes.

A Facebook group created by Montgomery to aid in the search had 2,766 members as of Monday.

Anyone with information about Bentley is asked to call the Woodstock Police Department at 815-338-2131.

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20006419-504083.html

Illinois Woman Beth Bentley Reported Missing, Fails to Return Home After Visiting Friends

June 1, 2010 3:12 PM

NEW YORK (CBS) Family and friends of 41-year-old Benedetta "Beth" Bentley are asking for help locating the mother of three who went missing May 23, reports

PICTURES: Beth Bentley Missing http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10003618.html

The Woodstock woman was reported missing after she failed to return home from a trip to Centralia on May 21.

Bentley was traveling with a friend to visit with other friends, but was scheduled to return to Woodstock alone Sunday evening.

"This is not like Beth at all" - to be out of contact with family and friends for any extended period of time - Angela Montgomery told ChicagoBreakingNews.com. "She's a serial caller, a serial texter."

Bentley was last seen at the Centralia train station where she planned to catch the 6:08 p.m. train to Union Station in Chicago. It is uncertain if Bentley got on the train at that station.

Bentley, who was expected to arrive home in Woodstock, about 60 miles northwest of Chicago, around 10 p.m., was reported missing by her husband Scott on May 24. In addition to her husband, Bentley has three sons ranging in age from age10 to 21.

Montgomery, who is a family friend, hopes to raise awareness of Bentley's disappearance in hopes that someone who may have seen her either at the train station or aboard the train will contact the authorities, says the website

Bentley is described as 5-foot-6-inches tall and 160 pounds with blond hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black tank top, blue denim miniskirt and carrying a pink and orange overnight Vera Bradley bag.

Montgomery asked that anyone with information about Bentley's whereabouts contact Woodstock police at 815-338-2131.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.thesouthern.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_d7d4d80c-6d89-11df-9da8-001cc4c002e0.html
Family, authorities search for info on missing woman

THE SOUTHERN STAFF | Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2010 9:18 am

CENTRALIA - Authorities and family are looking for information about a Centralia woman missing since May 23.

Benedetta "Beth" Rogers Bentley boarded an Amtrak train at the Centralia station and was later seen leaving the train at Union Station in Chicago, family said.

The 41-year-old woman has not been seen or heard from since, and family have called authorities to help aid in the search.

Anyone with information about Bentley is asked to contact the Woodstock Police Department at 815-338-2131.

She is described as a white woman, around 160 pounds and 5 feet, 6 inches high.  She has a medium build, brown eyes and long, wavy platinum blond hair.

Bentley was last seen wearing a blue jean mini skirt, black tank top, flip flops, and a Pandora bracelet.  She was carrying a big white purse and a pink and orange Vera Bradley overnight bag.

Bentley has a husband and three children, family said.

[Denise Harrison]

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/03/mom-missing-after-weekend-getaway/

Mom Missing After Weekend Getaway

Posted: 05:56 PM ET June 3

Police in Illinois are seeking help in finding a mother of three who vanished after a weekend getaway with a long-time friend.

Bennedetta “Beth” Bentley, 41, has not been seen or heard from since May 23, police said.

“We are concerned that she’s been gone for so long without contact,” Woodstock Police Chief Robert W. Lowen told CNN. “Disturbing matters, to say the least.”

In a phone interview, Scott Bentley said he’s always been in constant contact with his wife. “She has never not come back,” he told CNN. “She has never not called me. This is very unusual,” he added.

According to investigators, Bentley left her house on Thursday, May 20 to spend the weekend with a girlfriend in southern Illinois. Her friend was expected to drive her back home on May 24, police said.

But Bentley’s friend told detectives she drove her to a train station in Centralia, Illinois, on May 23, Police Chief Lowen said. “We don’t know why that decision was made to take the train back to the Chicago area,” Lowen added. “Doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason that they would do that.”

“The only information we have from the friend is that she dropped her off at this train station, probably about a half-hour before the train departed,” Lowen said. “She never saw her get on the train.”

“We’ve been working with Amtrak police to see if the ticket has ever been purchased. We have no information that the ticket was ever purchased,” Lowen told CNN.

Scott Bentley, who is an attorney, said his wife works with him as a legal aide. He also said she never would have her stepson’s high school graduation ceremony, which was held last weekend.

“We were the closest couple in the world,” Bentley said. “She told me she loved me, ten, twenty times a day and I did the same thing.”

“I have no idea what happened to my wife. I hope to God there is no foul play. If she did have some issues that I didn’t know about, then I would hope she just did run away, but she would never not contact her family. It’s just we don’t know what happened.”

A Facebook page has been created to raise awareness about Bentley’s disappearance.  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122739057758360 )

Bennedetta “Beth” Bentley is 5’6”, weighs 160 lbs., and has blonde hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black tank top shirt, a blue jean mini skirt, and carrying a large white purse and pink and orange overnight bag.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Woodstock Police Department at 815-338-2131.

[WJHarrison]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/3852C3F6FC106259862577390007E39D?OpenDocument

Missing woman may not have left Centralia, Ill.

By Nicholas J.C. Pistor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/05/2010

CENTRALIA, ILL. — There is no evidence that a northern Illinois woman who went missing May 23 ever left Centralia, police said Friday.

Beth Bentley, 41, of Woodstock, Ill., had reportedly been dropped off at about 4:30 p.m. that day at the Amtrak station in Centralia for a trip home.

But Robert W. Lowen, the police chief in Woodstock, said there is no sign that she got on the train. He said there are no surveillance cameras at the Centralia station, and that video on the Chicago cameras did not show her.

"Typically, travelers must give their name and address when riding Amtrak," Lowen said. "It's possible, however, that an employee didn't take her name. The Centralia station isn't manned on weekends, so it would have been up to the crew on the train."

Lowen also said that no passengers who were contacted could recognize Bentley's picture.

Bentley had attended her 10-year-old son's baseball game on May 20 and then left with her best friend for a trip to Southern Illinois. The friend, who was visiting her boyfriend in Mount Vernon, said she dropped Bentley off at the Amtrak station three days later so Bentley could return to her husband and three children, according to other friends of the family.

Efforts to track her cell phone have produced no conclusive results, Lowen said. None of her credit cards have been used.

"Her husband is distraught and so are her kids," Lowen said. "This appears to be unlike her character. But, there's always a possibility she doesn't want to be found."

Angela Montgomery, a friend of the family's, said it was uncharacteristic for Bentley to miss her 18-year-old son's high school graduation last weekend.

Montgomery said Bentley is a secretary for her husband, lawyer Scott Bentley.

She was last seen wearing a black tank top, a blue jean miniskirt, and carrying a large white purse and a pink-and-orange overnight bag. Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock police at 815-338-2131.

[WJHarrison]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/1E565CD5753806138625773B007FD643?OpenDocument

Search continues for woman missing in Centralia

06/07/2010
By Nicholas J.C. Pistor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH


CENTRALIA, Ill. -- The husband of a missing Northern Illinois woman is pleading for information from anyone who may have seen his Beth Bentley, who reportedly vanished from Centralia last month.

Bentley had attended her 10-year-old son's baseball game May 20 and then left with her best friend, Jenn Wyatt, for a trip to Southern Illinois. Wyatt, who was visiting her boyfriend in Mount Vernon, said she dropped Bentley off at the Amtrak station three days later so Bentley could return to her husband and three children, according to other friends of the family.

Wyatt declined to comment Monday and told a reporter she was asked not to talk about the case.

Bentley's husband, Scott Bentley, a lawyer from Woodstock, Ill., said on Monday that he last talked to his wife May 23.

“She said she'd be home late Sunday night or early Monday morning,” Scott Bentley said. “But, she never said anything about taking a train.”

Scott Bentley was in Centralia and Mount Vernon over the weekend distributing his wife's picture and hunting for any clue that could end the mystery.

“It's a horrible thing,” he said. “I just want her to know, if she did anything wrong, it's fine. We'll get through it. I just want her to come home.”

Woodstock police said Monday they are still treating Bentley's disappearance as a missing person case.

Woodstock Police Chief Robert W. Lowen said police are following every possible lead. He said police have investigated reported sightings of Bentley at a Mount Vernon grocery store and at a hotel. Video surveillance disproved the sightings, he said.

Bentley was last seen wearing a black tank top and a blue jean miniskirt, and carrying a large white purse and a pink-and-orange overnight bag. Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock police at 1-815-338-2131.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/09/r_xbjnxyixrn6abxudqbj0dw/index.xml

Reward offered for information on location of missing woman
Created: Thursday, June 10, 2010 5:30 a.m.

WOODSTOCK – The Woodstock and McHenry County CrimeStoppers are offering $2,000 for information that leads to the whereabouts of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley.

Bentley, a 41-year-old Woodstock mother of three, has been missing since May 23.

She traveled with a female friend by car to the Centralia area May 20.

The friend told police that she dropped Bentley off near the Centralia Amtrak station about 5:30 p.m.

Police have been unable to verify whether Bentley ever boarded a train from that station. Bentley’s cell phone and credit cards have had no activity since May 23, police said.

Bentley last was seen wearing a black tank top, blue jean mini skirt and flip flops and carrying a large white purse and a pink and orange Vera Bradley overnight bag.

If anyone has any information, call the Woodstock Police Department at 815-338-2131 or CrimeStoppers at 800-762-7867.

[Jenn]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/0F98769BE51FEF628625773E000569A2?OpenDocument

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS > Reward offered for tips on missing woman

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 06/10/2010

The Woodstock, Ill., and McHenry County Crime Stoppers offered a $2,000 reward on Wednesday to anyone who can provide information leading to the location of a northern Illinois woman who vanished last month in Southern Illinois.

Beth Bentley attended her 10-year-old son's baseball game on May 20 near Woodstock and then left with her best friend for a trip to Mount Vernon, Ill.

Jenn Wyatt, the friend, said she dropped Bentley off at the Amtrak station three days later so Bentley could return to her husband and three children, according to other friends of the family. No evidence exists that Bentley ever got on a train, police said.

Her cell phone and credit cards haven't been used since the day she went missing.

Bentley was last seen wearing a black tank top and a blue jean miniskirt, and carrying a large white purse and a pink-and-orange overnight bag.

Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock police at 815-338-2131.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2010/06/11/news/illinois_news/ill1102.txt

$2,000 for missing woman
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010 12:40 PM CDT

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) — A $2,000 reward is being offered for tips on the whereabouts of a northern Illinois woman missing for three weeks.

Benedetta “Beth” Bentley hasn’t been seen since she attended her 10-year-old son’s baseball game May 20 near Woodstock and left with her best friend to Mount Vernon.

Friends and family say Bentley was dropped off at a Centralia Amtrak station three days later so the 41-year-old mother of three could return home. But police say there’s no evidence she got on the train.

Her cell phone and credit cards haven’t been used since the day she vanished.

The Woodstock and McHenry County Crime Stoppers are offering the reward. Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock police.

Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock police at 815-338-2131.

[Jenn]

http://www.wsiltv.com/p/news_details.php?newsID=10389&type=top

Three Families Search For People Missing In Our Area

Last updated 9:52 am CT June 14, 2010.

WOODSTOCK -- Beth Bentley hasn't been seen since she visited our area last month. The 41 year old mother of three was last seen in Centralia on May 23rd, she was visiting friends. Her friends say they dropped her off at the train station to head back to her hometown of Woodstock, but her husband says Beth never mentioned anything about taking the train, instead she told him she was going to drive. No one has seen her since.

Detectives have interviewed the conductor as well as passengers on the train that Bentley was supposed to be on, but no one recalls seeing her.

If you have any information about her you're asked to call the Woodstock Police Department at (815) 330-2131.

[Jenn]

NamUs Profile for Beth:  http://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/7422

[LoriDavis]

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/17/r_l9tbf7styev_ek_xribwq/index.xml

Reward raised in case of missing local woman
By BRIAN SLUPSKI
Created: Friday, June 18, 2010 5:30 a.m. CDT

WOODSTOCK – The reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley now is $5,000.

Bentley, 41, has been missing since May 23. She traveled by car with a friend, Jenn Wyatt, May 20 to visit Wyatt’s boyfriend, who was working on a home in the Mount Vernon area.

Wyatt told police that she dropped Bentley off May 23 near an Amtrak station in Centralia. Police have not been able to verify whether Bentley boarded a Chicago-bound train that was leaving a little after 6 p.m.

Scott Bentley said that he last spoke to his wife about 4 p.m. May 23.

“I have heard nothing,” Bentley said Thursday when asked whether police had any new information. “I know they are working on it very hard; it’s a top priority for them.”

The $5,000 reward money includes $2,000 from CrimeStoppers and $3,000 from private funds.

Scott Bentley said that concerned friends and relatives indicated that they might want to contribute to the reward fund. He said he was in the process of setting up such a fund at Chase bank, and it should be available next week.

“Beth and I have the most amazing group of friends. They are incredible,” Scott Bentley said. “They are going out of their way to do anything they can to help me and the boys. I’m just blown away.”

To date, the “Beth Bentley...Missing Woodstock, IL Woman!” Facebook page has 6,128 members. The page also includes more than 69 photos. Many of the pictures are of Bentley and her friends. Some of are the area where she reportedly last was seen.

Woodstock police still are considering possibilities including that Bentley was abducted, fell victim to some type of harm, or chose to leave for her own reasons.

On Thursday, police said they did not have any new information to release related to the case.

If you have any information about her you're asked to call the Woodstock Police Department at (815) 330-2131.

[LoriDavis]

http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=12696704

Woodstock Police say missing woman may be in danger
Posted: Jun 23, 2010 1:50 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 23, 2010 1:50 PM EDT


Benedetta "Beth" Bentley

WOODSTOCK (WREX) - Woodstock Police are looking for help in locating a mother who went missing a month ago.

Benedetta "Beth" Bentley was last seen on May 23 around 5:30 p.m. when she was dropped off at the Centralia Illinois train station to board a train from Chicago to Woodstock.

There's no record of Bentley ever boarding the train.

She was last seen wearing a black tank top, blue jean mini skirt, flip flops and carrying a large white purse and a pink and orange Vera Bradley overnight bag.

The Woodstock and McHenry County Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that leads to her whereabouts. Call (815) 338-2131 or (800) 762-7867.

[Jenn]

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/28/r_fgfebyygrespg6oqelf3ta/index.xml



Fundraiser to help family search for missing woman

By NORTHWEST HERALD Created: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 5:30 a.m. CDT

WOODSTOCK – A fundraiser to benefit the family of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley and to assist in paying for search efforts is scheduled for July 16 at Gus’s Roadhouse.

Bentley has been missing since May 23. Bentley traveled with her friend Jenn Wyatt in a rented car May 20 to the Mount Vernon area to visit Wyatt’s boyfriend.

Woodstock Police have said that Bentley was dropped off May 23 near the Amtrak train station in Centralia.

Police have been unable to verify whether Bentley boarded a 6:08 p.m. train bound for Chicago.

So far, a $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Bentley’s whereabouts.

As of Monday afternoon, the “Beth Bentley...Missing Woodstock, IL Woman!”
Facebook page had 6,760 members.

The fundraiser at Gus’s Roadhouse, 680 S. Eastwood Drive, Woodstock, is being organized by Bentley’s friends in coordination with her husband, Scott.

A news release for the event states that all the money will be turned over to Scott Bentley and Bentley’s family.

The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 16.

The fundraiser will feature a silent auction, raffle prizes and live music.

Organizers are seeking items for the silent auction and raffles.

[Kelly]

Project Jason Profile:

Name: Benedetta Bentley

Alias: Beth
Date of Birth: 02/12/1969
Date Missing: 05/23/2010
Age at time of disappearance: 41
City Missing From: Centralia
State Missing From: IL
Gender: Female
Race: White
Height: 5 ft 6 in
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair Color: Platinum blonde
Eye Color: Green/brown
Complexion: Fair

Identifying Characteristics: Platinum blonde hair with extensions

Clothing: Black tank top, blue jean skirt, flip flops, white Gucci purse, pink & orange Vera Bradley Overnight bag

Jewelry: Wedding ring, possibly wearing a silver Tiffany necklace

Circumstances of Disappearance: Beth was last seen on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. It is thought that Beth was going to the Amtrak Train Station in Centralia, IL for a 6pm train. Neither Amtrak nor passengers that were interviewed could place Beth on the train. The search is concentrating on her last known whereabouts in Mt. Vernon and Centralia.

Beth was driven to the station by her friend in a 2009 White Nissan Ultima. Beth was carrying her pink & orange Vera Bradley bag and a big white purse. She may have walked around the area.

Medical Conditions: None

Investigative Agency: Woodstock, IL Police Department
Agency Phone: (815) 338-2131

Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_BenedettaBentley.pdf