Bleeding Hearts

July 14, 2020 at 5:07 p.m.

By -

Editor, Times-Union:

While speaking with my wife, about a month back, she mentioned how an 18-year-old Amish girl, Linda Stoltzfoos, was reported missing when she failed to arrive, walking  home from church. The FBI soon became involved in the search, and the federal agency then offered a $10,000 reward for information on the missing girl.

Eventually, a couple of leads came in, resulting in the arrest of a suspect in the teen’s disappearance. Soon, the teen’s clothes were found, buried in a spot of land.

The hopes of finding this girl alive have certainly dimmed. The suspect, Justo Smoker, is being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail.

Smoker has a criminal record (that figures) and was facing a lengthy prison term for a previous offense, but the judge in his trial for the prior offense opted to show mercy to Smoker, giving him a chance to turn his life around.

Let me be blunt. There are some people who cannot be helped, they cannot be "saved,” because their souls are so filled with "If I see something/someone I want, I'm gonna take it/them!" That is just the way things are in this world, and no amount of "bleeding heart" nonsense is going to change that.

It makes me sick that it took money to bring in the lead to the suspect, but Linda is still missing. She was such a beautiful girl, and this fills me with rage that any piece of filth would harm her.

The suspect is presumed innocent until convicted at trial.

William Gerald Smith

North Webster, via email

Editor, Times-Union:

While speaking with my wife, about a month back, she mentioned how an 18-year-old Amish girl, Linda Stoltzfoos, was reported missing when she failed to arrive, walking  home from church. The FBI soon became involved in the search, and the federal agency then offered a $10,000 reward for information on the missing girl.

Eventually, a couple of leads came in, resulting in the arrest of a suspect in the teen’s disappearance. Soon, the teen’s clothes were found, buried in a spot of land.

The hopes of finding this girl alive have certainly dimmed. The suspect, Justo Smoker, is being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail.

Smoker has a criminal record (that figures) and was facing a lengthy prison term for a previous offense, but the judge in his trial for the prior offense opted to show mercy to Smoker, giving him a chance to turn his life around.

Let me be blunt. There are some people who cannot be helped, they cannot be "saved,” because their souls are so filled with "If I see something/someone I want, I'm gonna take it/them!" That is just the way things are in this world, and no amount of "bleeding heart" nonsense is going to change that.

It makes me sick that it took money to bring in the lead to the suspect, but Linda is still missing. She was such a beautiful girl, and this fills me with rage that any piece of filth would harm her.

The suspect is presumed innocent until convicted at trial.

William Gerald Smith

North Webster, via email

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