Missing Pocatello woman found safe in Oregon; Police now investigating case
Update: Friday, Feburary 3, 2017, 11:44 p.m.:
The family of a missing Pocatello woman says she has been found in Oregon, just hours after she was reported missing.
Linda Rothman was reported missing to Eugene, Oregon Police by her daughter after a mysterious Facebook page on Rothman’s page said she was dead.
According to Shelly Bingham Hem, Rothman’s daughter, her mother was found in Oakridge, Oregon after KIFI/KIDK reported she was missing. Hem said her mother turned herself into police after our reports.
“She is alive,” Hem wrote on Facebook. “Not many details have been released at this time but if it was not for you guys airing the story you aired, I would still be looking for a body or a human.”
Hem says police are currently talking with Rothman about her disappearance and the Facebook page. Eugene Police have not returned calls to KIFI/KIDK.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Pocatello woman whose home exploded in September has been reported as a missing person.
The Eugene, Oregon, police department’s record division confirmed to KIFI/KIDK that Linda Rothman was reported missing this evening, but could not provide any addition information.
Rothman’s daughter, Shelly Bingham Hem, said she received a Facebook message Thursday evening saying her mother was dead. On Thursday, a post on Rothman’s Facebook said Rothman “passed on to God’s arms.” The writer of the post identified themselves as Rothman’s roommate.
Hem said her mother contacted a crisis center hotline on Jan. 3 and told them she was being held hostage at a Eugene hotel by two men with guns. Police responded to the hotel, and according to Hem, said Rothman was “acting skittish” and did not want to talk to police. Police left the hotel saying “there was nothing suspicious.”
According to Hem, Rothman called police again on Jan. 4, saying she was going to pack up her belongings and return back to Idaho. It was the last time she was heard from.
KIFI/KIDI spoke with Rothman back in September when her Pocatello home exploded following an electrical fire in her walls.
Hem believes her mother may be being held against her will. Rothman is said to have left Pocatello after the fire for a construction job in Oregon.
Police have not said if they believe Rothman is in danger, but did say the “Facebook is off,” calling it “suspicious.”
Anyone with information about where Rothman may be is asked to call police.
