Found!
Our Missing Librarian Has Been FOUND!
Sandra Kelsey, our El Dorado Hills Librarian, has been FOUND! She was found alive in Oregon.
The Candlelight Vigil planned for today, Friday, October 5th at the El Dorado Hills Library has been CANCELLED.
Thank you for all of your care and concern during this time.
For information please contact the Sacramento Police department (916) 264-5471.
Updated Friday, October 5, 2007
Missing Sacramento woman found alive in Oregon
By Ryan Lillis and Niesha Lofing - Bee Staff Writers
Sandra Amanda "Mandy" Kelsey, the 24-year-old Sacramento woman who disappeared last weekend, was found Friday morning wandering on a bridge in Seaside, Ore., according to police.
It does not appear Kelsey, an artist at the El Dorado Hills Library, was kidnapped, according to Sacramento police Sgt. Matt Young. Young said it is "a safe conclusion one can infer" that Kelsey left Sacramento on her own.
Kelsey, who is being evaluated at a hospital in the Seaside area, was "somewhat despondent" when found but physically unharmed, Young said.
She was reported missing after she did not show up for work Saturday morning. She was last seen by her roommates at a coffee shop near their home.
"We never gave up on locating Ms. Kelsey," Young said. "We dedicated a tremendous amount of resources to this case. We are very pleased she was found safe and unharmed."
Barbara Garcia, Kelsey's supervisor at the library, said she received a call around 10 a.m. Friday from Kelsey's aunt with news that Kelsey was found alive.
"It's the best news we've had in a week," Garcia said.
A candlelight vigil at the library planned for Friday night has been called off. Several hundred people, including children and patrons, were expected to attend.
"I'm glad to say that I can put the candles away," she said.
Garcia said Kelsey's job will be waiting for her, should she want to return to the library.
"We'll definitely welcome her back with open arms and will be happy to see her," she said.
Updated Monday, October 1, 2007
Woman, 24, is missing, police say
A clue in S.F. after El Dorado worker disappears ahead of mom's birthday.
By Lakiesha McGhee - Bee Staff Writer
Law enforcement agencies are searching for a 24-year-old Sacramento woman who was reported missing Saturday after failing to show up for work at an El Dorado Hills library.
Sandra Amanda Kelsey, known by her family and friends as "Mandy," was last seen about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Sacramento police.
Kelsey was spotted by her roommates at Folsom Boulevard and 34th Street at a coffee shop near their home, her mother, Jill Maxwell, said.
The trip to the coffee shop was routine, her mother said. But missing work was out of the ordinary.
"She never, ever in the history of her life missed work without calling," Maxwell said Sunday in a telephone interview. "Today is my birthday. We had plans today. ... She would have called."
Sgt. Elmo Banning said law enforcement agencies, including the San Francisco Police Department, are working together in the search for Kelsey.
A trace placed on her cell phone indicated her phone was in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park later Saturday morning. By 3 p.m., the battery in the cell phone went dead or the phone was shut off, Banning said.
Kelsey has no known associates in San Francisco and no history of missing-person behavior, authorities said.
"We notified the San Francisco Police Department and they are cooperating the best they can, but it's like finding a needle in a haystack," Banning said.
Police have conducted aerial and ground searches for Kelsey and are on alert for her car, a four-door silver Kia Rio with California license 5WMU818. If the car is stopped by police anywhere in the nation it would come up in the system as a missing person's vehicle, Banning said.
Kelsey has worked as an artist at the library branch in El Dorado Hills since it opened in February 2006, said Jeanne Amos, library director of the El Dorado County Library system. She described the young woman as "very hardworking" and a "very serious" employee who rarely missed work.
A library employee notified Kelsey's family when she didn't show up at her job.
"It was completely uncharacteristic of her," Amos said. "She would not let other people down and not be accountable."
Barbara Garcia, Kelsey's supervisor, said she last spoke to the young woman Friday about her schedule.
Kelsey was slated to start work at 8 a.m. Saturday as part of a staff rotation, Garcia said.
"She had plans to meet with the children's librarian to talk about programming," the supervisor said. "Her desk was normal. Everything seemed fine."
Kelsey moved out of her mother's home about a month ago to live with roommates, according to friends and family.
They said she was close to her family and had plans for a family get-together Sunday.
Jill Maxwell said the last conversation she had with her daughter was a brief one Friday. Kelsey told her mother she would call her Saturday and see her Sunday, Maxwell said.
The two had considered going to a movie with other family members, but there were no elaborate plans.
"Today, all I want is to hear from her," Maxwell said. "That would be the best birthday present ever."
