Missing woman is found safe

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint woman who was reported missing Monday in southeastern Washington state was found after an intense daylong search.

“She was found safe and sound,” Franklin County Sheriff’s dispatcher said of Rashelle Klontz, who was last seen Sunday afternoon at a country store a few miles north of Pasco, Wash.

The circumstances concerning her disappearance or how she was found were not immediately disclosed. Further comment is pending from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is pending.

Word of Klontz’s discovery was reported on the social media network Facebook and the post was authenticated by Franklin County sheriff’s officials.

Klontz, 21, was last seen at Country Mercantile. Her purse, mobile phone and a laptop computer were found in the store, while her sport utility vehicle was found in its parking lot, according to her father, Rick.

Rick Klontz told The Tri-City Herald that it’s unlike his daughter to go anywhere without advising friends or family.

“I am sitting here hoping she will walk up,” he reportedly told the newspaper before news broke she had been found. “I can’t even fathom this as a father.”

Authorities in Franklin County reportedly checked a journal and found passages indicating she planned to take a hike in the desert to pray. Rick Klontz told the paper that her daughter is devoted to her religion.

Rashelle Klontz was reportedly en route back to Sandpoint after visiting friends in Hermiston, Ore., when she disappeared. Her father said she is engaged to be married and the nuptials are set for July 19.

Franklin County Undersheriff Kevin Carle said searchers checked the surrounding farmlands and checked with neighbors, but found no trace of the woman. Carle took part in an aerial search, but it also came up empty.

“We’ve been searching all day long,” said Carle. “We don’t have any answers.”

n https://www.facebook.com/MissingPersonRashelleKlontz