Group Home Girls Make a Barefoot Run for It

June 24, 2008— -- Three bipolar teen girls who live in a rural North Carolina group home for adolescents with mental and behavioral problems remained missing today, two days after they eluded a counselor Sunday night by wading barefoot across a shallow river.

Shikeyla Wilfong, 16, Taylor Sandefer, 13, and Brittany Roper, 17, were reported missing to the Boiling Springs, N.C., Police Department at 7:25 p.m. Sunday after leaving during a group outing at a recreational area.

A counselor from the Trinity III group home in Shelby, N.C., told authorities that the three girls were wading in the shallow water at the Broad River Greenway and refused to return to the riverbank when called, Boiling Spring Police Chief Marty Thomas told ABC News.

The girls crossed to the opposite bank and were gone by the time the counselor drove over a bridge to cross to the other side of the river to meet them.

The counselor then had to drive around for a while to find cell phone reception to call 911 and report their disappearance, a factor that increased the lag time before police responded, Thomas said.

An intense, multiagency ground search of the area Sunday night failed to turn up the girls. Authorities did find three sets of footprints heading west that doubled back toward a local bridge to a spot where they could have been picked up.

"There are two different thoughts," Thomas said. "Either they had a really elaborate plan to get away and made some telephone calls and set it up, or someone just happened to pick them up."

A History of Behavior Problems

The search was suspended Monday, and the focus of the investigation turned to interviewing counselors at the Trinity III group home, as well as possible friends or family members whom the three girls may be trying to meet.

Trinity III is a privately owned facility described on its Web site as a residential program for adolescents suffering from mental disorders. The program promotes family-style living as an element of the treatment.

All three girls live with bipolar disorder, Thomas said, and have had behavioral problems in the past, which are typically treated with daily prescription medication.

Thomas said he is most concerned for the safety of the 13-year-old, Taylor Sandefer. He said the girl came to the group home from a broken family and has had violent manic episodes in the past. She has a severe beesting allergy and is traveling without an EpiPen, which could prevent her from experiencing anaphylactic shock if stung.

"Basically, they couldn't handle her at home," Thomas said.

The two older girls, Thomas said, have both run away in the past but have not done so in more than a year. He speculated that they may be trying to reach a friend, family member or boyfriend met over the social networking Web site MySpace.

"They have been in the system for quite a while," Thomas said. "They're street savvy and may be able to work some different angles."

Headed to Charlotte?

Motorists reported seeing Sandefer and Roper walking east Monday along an interstate toward Charlotte, where one of the girls is known to have connections. Charlotte is about 50 miles from Boiling Springs, a rural community near the South Carolina state line.

The possibility that the girls might be hitchiking is another reason for concern, Thomas said.

"They are in some danger if you take that risk of flagging down cars and hitchhiking. You never know what's going to happen to you," he said. "They may have fallen into harm's way if they're not smart about things."

Authorities are urging the girls to call or turn themselves in, as their escape has resulted in "long sleepless nights for parents" and a lot of time and energy from law enforcement.

According to the Boiling Springs Police Department, Wilfong is black, 5 feet tall and weighs 110 pounds. She was last seen wearing a cream-colored tank top and brown shorts.

Sandefer, a light-skinned black, stands at 5 feet 8 inches, and weighs 230 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and white shorts.

Roper is white, and at 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds. She was last seen wearing a turquoise tank top and white shorts.