PORT JERVIS – A third young Port Jervis woman reported as missing on social media earlier this week, and to Port Jervis Police Department on August 9, has been safely located.
Police Chief William Worden said police were able to confirm Cheyenne McBride’s whereabouts and well-being the day after being notified that she was missing.
“We were able to locate Cheyenne this morning (August 10) due to a tip received by Hope Alive 845 and our continual dialogue with Domingo (Ramos, founder and CEO of Hope Alive845),” Worden said. “Domingo contacted us. We contacted and have been in contact with Poughkeepsie PD. They went out and confirmed she was okay.”
Hope Alive 845 has been intricately involved in the search for all three recent missing Port Jervis women, all in their 20s, including McBride. Hope Alive is comprised of a team of approximately 12 active volunteers whose mission is to help families of missing loved ones by searching and then alerting police to tips and active leads that they have investigated.
Founded in 2017 and active ever since their mission involves helping families, friends, victims, and law enforcement with support or necessary services for missing, kidnapped or exploited children and adults.
“We have been helping to follow leads for Brittany (Hendershot) and Heather (Callas), and were able to find Cheyenne through a tip that we received and verified. We then called Port Jervis Police,” Ramos said.
Ramos said he and his group have received many tips from people about Hendershot, each reporting someone who looks like her. They have traveled to various places, including Middletown, Newburgh, and around Port Jervis.
“We have investigated every tip we’ve received, and we are continuing to follow leads on both Brittany and Heather,” Ramos said.
The families are very grateful for the help of police, Hope Alive 845, and the general public for the great concern shown to them.
Crystal and Lee Hendershot, parents of Brittany Hendershot, said they are hopeful that their daughter’s phone, which had been sold but has been recovered by police, will yield information after a thorough and deep investigation of its contents.
“Police are looking at all of the contents of the phone. We have also received tips linking various places and persons to Brittany, but these are still being investigated. We know that Brittany’s boyfriend was with her at the last known place she was confirmed to have been, in Middletown (in early July),” Crystal said. “We also feel certain that someone involved in her disappearance knows something that is not being shared.”
Melissa Hadden, Heather Callas’ mother, said her family has received many tips as well. She urges anyone who sees her daughter not to approach her, but to keep a distance, keep her in their line of sight, and immediately call Port Jervis Police at 845-856-5101.
“It is best to let the police handle this. They know what to do and we don’t want to lose her once she is spotted. Right now, it just seems to be going in a complete circle. We keep getting tips from people who think it’s Heather and it turns out not to be. It gives us hope and then it’s not her, or she’s gone, Hadden said. “We are grateful for everyone’s help, but we urge them to call the police if they spot someone they think is Heather. The police know the best way to approach her.”
Hadden said her own family members, her son and a grandson, have followed leads and traveled as far as Brooklyn in the search. They spoke with people who mentioned a street name of a man involved in illegal activities and whom they said want “Baby Girl (referencing Heather) out of here” because of heavy police involvement.
“We suspect she was abducted and could be being used in sex trafficking,” Hadden said. “We just want to get her safely back home.”
Anyone with any information, or who believes they see either Brittany Hendershot or Heather Callas, is asked to immediately call Port Jervis Police Department at 845-856-5101.
