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Two images of Shalene Ball (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension).
A South Dakota woman who was reported missing is believed to be in Minnesota — and not by her own choice.
Shalene Ball, 35, was reported missing on Friday, according to an alert distributed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). The agency, along with the West St. Paul Police Department in Minnesota and the Sioux Falls Police Department in South Dakota, described Ball as “endangered” and stated that investigators believed she was “being held against her will.”
An earlier flyer on the South Dakota Missing Persons Facebook group about Ball’s apparent disappearance said that the last time her family spoke to her was in January, with their last text message exchanged on Feb. 26. In describing the circumstances of Ball’s situation, the flyer said, “Family is very concerned for her safety and wellbeing and want to know that Shalene is safe.”
The group urged anyone who had been in contact with Ball since February to come forward with information and contact Sioux Falls police.
Ball was believed to have been last seen in “West St. Paul or South St. Paul,” according to the BCA, but no information was provided about who was purportedly holding her against her will.
The earlier flyer on South Dakota Missing Persons said that Ball may be traveling in a 2007 white Dodge Caravan. No information was available about what she was wearing or any known acquaintances or relationships.
A Facebook user who said she was Ball’s cousin posted about her missing status on April 17, later commenting that she was in touch with detectives and that Ball’s “friends are saying she passed away.” However, there was no evidence of that being true. On April 16, another Facebook user addressed Ball directly, tagging her accounts, saying, “Get a hold of me now!”
Another user who replied to Ball’s cousin said that she had texted Ball on April 10, and the text was shown as “seen,” but noted that it could have been seen by “someone else.” Someone replied to the cousin’s post saying, “she has already been through so much!”
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