NPS SEEKING ASSISTANCE IN SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN

Date: February 11, 2011

 Porter , IN- During a routine evening closure of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore’s Mt. Baldy parking area on Monday February 7th, a patrol ranger came upon an unoccupied 2003 Ford Windstar minivan in the lot after hours. A search of the trails in the immediate area was unsuccessful in locating the vehicle’s occupants.. After further investigation it was determined that the registered owner of the vehicle was a 47 year -old woman reported missing from the Indianapolis area. Through Monday evening a further search of the area and vehicle was done without any success. Information gathered from the vehicle in the form of a hand written note indicated the vehicle was broken down.
     

The following morning a more extensive search of the area was conducted involving up to 20 ground searchers from the National Park Service and an air scent dog and handler from the Michigan City, Indiana Police Department. Members of the Michigan City unit of United States Coast Guard and a Coast Guard fixed wing aircraft, provided specialized expertise and equipment to search the shoreline and shelf ice.
  

Several hours of searching the lakefront and surrounding grounds revealed no evidence that the individual was in the area of Mt. Baldy. The park was in contact with the family and gathered further information about the missing female and is working closely with the Missing Persons Unit of the Indianapolis Metro Police Department to assist in locating her.

We are now seeking your help in locating the missing individual. Identified as Roxanne Shah of Indianapolis, Indiana, she is a 47 year old white female, 5’5” tall with an approximate weight of 130 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a green and white winter jacket, dark pants and boots. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Shah should contact the National Lakeshore’s tip line at
1-800-PARK-TIP (1-800-727-5847).
          

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 394 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes 15 miles of the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan and 15,000 acres of beach, woods, marshes, and prairie in the northwest corner of Indiana. More than 2 million visitors come to this national park each year.