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 Fliers, e-mails, phone calls, a Facebook page — the family and friends of Brittany Wells are getting word out however they can as they try to find the missing teen from Larimore, N.D

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“If she can hear us right now, we just want to tell her that we love her and we need her back home,” her father said Wednesday.

Wells, 17, cashed a check at the Citizen’s Community Credit Union in Larimore at 12:20 p.m. March 12. She left the building by herself and hasn’t been seen since, said Sgt. Gary Grove of the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Department.

The department has pursued several leads, but none have panned out. Investigators don’t know where Wells is or why she’s vanished.

Authorities said Wells might be with her acquaintance 19-year-old Dennis Armstrong of rural Northwood, N.D.

Grove, who’s been investigating the case, said he does not believe Wells is in danger nor does he suspect foul play in her disappearance. For those reasons, he said, an Amber Alert was not issued.

Based on the circumstances, Grove said, state law defines Wells as a juvenile who has left home without permission. He said she hasn’t left unannounced before.

Wells’ father and stepmother, David and Diane Wells, saw Brittany when she left for Larimore High School the morning of March 12. She went to school and then the bank, the sergeant said.

David Wells said he wanted to publicize the case in the news media earlier, but investigators asked him to wait until the time was right.

Grove said in his experience, alerting the media of a runaway or missing juvenile will “either make them run farther away or make them come home.”

A Facebook page was set up to aid in the search, and so far, 250 people have joined the site in support, Wells’ father said. Roughly 1,600 people have visited the site, some leaving helpful information, Grove said.

Wells’ mother, Heidi Rud of Badger, Minn., said she’s been keeping herself busy doing research on the Internet, trying to find out how she can help.

Rud said she’s doing OK, but wishes she just could get a call from her daughter.

“It’s been almost a week now, and we don’t have too many answers yet.”

Reach Ingersoll at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com.

Brittany Wells

 

Brittany Wells, 17, of Larimore, N.D., was last seen wearing a white zip-up jacket, a black and silver hooded sweatshirt, white and teal tennis shoes and pink sweat pants. She was carrying a backpack with a camouflage pattern and a black purse. She may be wearing rings and dangly earrings.

Wells is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds with hazel-blue eyes and long, dark blond hair. She walks with a limp on her right side and wears braces on her top and bottom teeth.

Dennis Armstrong, 19, of rural Northwood, N.D., may have his arm in a sling from a recent shoulder injury.

 

Anyone with information on Wells’ whereabouts should call the Sheriff’s Department at (701) 780-8280.