Keep An Eye Out for Young Stephanie Haranczyk
December 14, 2006
Update: Friends of Stephanie’s have posted that she is safe, well and now in touch with her family.
[Edited as per Charley Daniels' example.]
Stephanie, if you’re reading this, please get in touch with your parents. Regardless of what has happened, they love you and are worried about you. They want to know that you are safe.
Via Maryamie.
totally unrelated, but happy early hanukkah!!!! hope you have eight crazy nights
Thanks sweetie!
i took that picture and made those dreadlocks i really miss you stephanie hope to see you soon.
Oh no! A missing white woman! Call Fox News!
A 16 year old girl and her 21 year old boyfriend took off? Wow, you mean 16 yr old girls can be headstrong and do exactly what they want? I bet none of the “grrrlss” reading this blog thought they knew exactly what they were doing when they were 16, no matter how stupid it was. And I bet none of them were involved with older guys. Nope.
So let’s tar this guy when we catch him.
FWIW, so many woman I’ve talked to have had older boyfriends along the way, often older then the law allowed. And most of them would be crushed if that boyfriend was jailed over it.
If they had the good sense to live just 100 miles away in Nevada this wouldn’t even be an issue, as 16 is the age, according to ageofconsent.com. She was a month shy of 17 when she took off. Pretty close to a non-issue in a zillion other states.
But hey, a cute picture of a white girl, teenage sex, forbidden fruit, “life on the lam,” lanky, pierced, smoking, baggy pants dangerous guy with a roguish grin, the Internet, a chance for bloggers to superficially feel good about some lame thing they are ‘doing’ by copying and pasting stories to their blogs, this story has it all!
The girl is described as ‘young’ but the guy, only 21, wears “baggy pants” (and we all know what THAT means) “skateboards” (ruffians) and good lord, he “smokes!” (now THERE’S a topic to incite the lunatic left.) Any more villainous, demonizing terms designed to scare a certain demographic you can fit into one sentence? Of course she doesn’t “smoke” “wear baggy clothes” or “skateboard,” it is only HE who is described as such (dunno, really, but I find it hard to believe she doesn’t have at least ONE habit that the guy in her life has.) She’s none of that, just “young.”
NOTE: None of the sites carrying this story seem to have updated it to show she is now just about 17.25 years old, though some do have her birthdate. No, according to them, she’s 16 and be on the LOOKOUT!
I love the site that said “If you see them don’t approach! Just call the police!” Standard language for dangerous felons on the lam. No hint of danger here, it just seems like the authorities want to avoid tipping them off they’ve been spotted. Remember, the couple uses the internet to track where people are looking for them. But a little more perjorative language will go a long way to inciting the sheep to be on the lookout for the dangerous guy that TOOK the HOT WHITE GIRL.
This is two intelligent people who, while possibly making a mistake, are doing exactly what they want to do and to be together.
But since this is a topic no one could ever argue with, let’s ignore the manipulative language, ignore whatever it is she wants and is feeling (or is running FROM - no one mentions that possibility) and hang this rotten bastard by his baggy-pants encased smoky smelling nuts!!!
PS Juliet was 13. Romeo was….not.
hideflife: If your seventeen year old had just run off with an older guy, you would probably be beside yourself.
All seventeen year old girls hate their parents. Stephanie could be running from any number of perceived injustices. Maybe her mom didn’t let her stay out with her friends until two in the morning. Teenage girls tend to over-dramatize everything. That fact alone is enough for me to conclude that she belongs at home with her parents.
If she’d run away on her own, or with a friend, I would still have posted this flier, because teenagers belong at home with their parents. But she’s in even more danger because she’s run away with a guy who is light years ahead of her experience-wise.
Would you let your seventeen-year old date a twenty one-year old guy?
When I was 17 I ran away with a 21-year-old man and I turned out okay.
(I’d like to thank the people at Jesus Camp who made me straight again)
Andy.. ugh.. lol.
HIDEFLIFE,
YOU SOUND LIKE A PERVERT. WHO ARE YOU?
HIDEFLIFE,
this is the second angry post you’ve made (that I know of). Who are you and why are you so accusatory over my family’s just concern for Stephanie?
You talk about us describing him as wearing “baggy clothing” and that he “skateboards” and “smokes.” You know why we mentioned this? Baggy clothes = that’s what Stephanie’s friends told us he wears. Skateboards = that’s what Stephanie’s friends told us he likes to do. Smokes = that’s what Stephanie’s friends told us he does. We have no first hand knowledge of who he is or what he does, these are all things we’ve gathered from others to try to find Stephanie to let her know that we care for her and so that we know she’s okay.
I don’t get you and all of your anger. If Josh turns out to be a good guy, we don’t want to harm him. If he turns out to not be a good guy, then of course, we’re going to want to protect Stephanie. We just need to hear from her to know first hand what the situation is. How hard is this for you to understand?
Guess what? I was 16/17 not too long ago. I dated an older guy in high school. I skateboarded with my friends. I know many amazing people who smoke and I don’t think it’s a big deal. I too went through a difficult time not knowing what I wanted and felt like running off. At times I still do. And if I did, I would certainly hope that my family loves me enough to look for me.
The things you say make me think that you know Stephanie and Josh. Tell Stephanie that if she needs anything, she should call me. Tell her she should call me anyway.
Oh, and one more thing, you’re a jerk.
Isabelle Haranczyk, Stephanie’s oldest sister.
hideflife, i’m going to go ahead and assume you don’t know her or her family at all. with that, you have no right to accuse anyone of anything and you have no idea the kinds of people she was involved with before she disappeared. please think before you type. think about what her family has gone through and how distraught every single one of her friends has been for the past 8 months. we haven’t heard anything from her at all… i never knew josh, they disappeared just a couple weeks after she met him, i was away at college at the time. i really don’t know what he’s like, i don’t know him, he could be a drug dealer and he could be a saint. i don’t think anyone plans to jump him or anything if they came back into town, i know i’d just like to know that she’s okay. oh and she’s not just some “hot white girl” - many lost their good friend when she left and they’d like to know she’s okay as well, i’m sure.
Brady Peneton, Stephanie’s (ex-)best friend from high school
PS: i can’t believe i didn’t find this earlier. oh and I agree, isabelle
God, Stephanie, I miss you.
hidelife, whoever the f**k you are, thank you very much. teresa, whoever the f**k you are, seriously..come on now.
[Editor's Note: This posting has been edited for profanity.]
Stephanie: I’m really glad that you’re safe and sound.
“All seventeen year old girls hate their parents. Stephanie could be running from any number of perceived injustices. Maybe her mom didn’t let her stay out with her friends until two in the morning. Teenage girls tend to over-dramatize everything. That fact alone is enough for me to conclude that she belongs at home with her parents.”
“But she’s in even more danger because she’s run away with a guy who is light years ahead of her experience-wise.”
What gave you the idea that I hate my parents? Not all 17 year old girls hate their parents. The reason I ran away has NOTHING to do with whether my mom let me stay out late or not. I agree that SOME teenage girls tend to over dramatize things but not all, and for you to have said that directed towards me just makes me wonder why you’re trying to defend some girl who ran away from her hometown for reasons unknown. You never knew me, so why were you making up reasons to defend me over? Just because I had run away doesnt mean I was in danger, doesn’t mean I was kidnapped, doesn’t mean I’m some teenage girl who has no idea what she is doing. You obviously thought I was some pussy, prostitot 16 year old who didn’t know shit in life and wanted me to get back to my parents before I got AIDS and raped in the butt by some homeless dude. But that was never the case. Like I said, you never knew me, you don’t know what I’ve experienced. Who are you to say that a 21 year old (that you don’t know) is more experienced than me? Again, do you know me? Do you know Josh? I didn’t think so. I really don’t even want to think about how stupid you were at 17 if you would say this.
Millions of teenagers run away from their homes. Reasons are different than others. Just because a young woman runs away with her boyfriend who is a few years older doesn’t mean that he has ABDUCTED HER AND WILL CUT HER BODY UP IN 100 PIECES AND COOK IT OVER A BONFIRE - OH MY GOD TELL THE COPS THAT THERE’S THIS GIRL I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO RAN AWAY AND NOW SHES IN DANGER BECAUSE HER BOYFRIEND IS 4 YEARS OLDER HOLY S*** SHE’LL DIE IN 2 DAYS! WE NEED TO MAKE UP AS MUCH STORIES AS POSSIBLE AND START A BULLS*** INTERNET BLOG ABOUT HER.
I understand that my parents were confused when this all went down and they were worried and asking people and whatever else they were doing. I understand that. But you? WHO ARE YOU?! And why do you talk about me like you know me? Since when are “baggy pants” and skateboarding and hanging out at arcades and smoking bad? Hey Teresa, guess what. I wear baggy clothes. Do you? I’m just going to assume that you don’t since you assumed that about me. Do you skateboard? I’m going to assume you don’t because you seem too straight for that shit. Do you hang out at arcades? GUess what? Me either. and neither does Josh. You should though. It’s a nerd activity. I think. do you smoke? guess what? I do. every d*** day of my life and I think of people like you were right next to me so I could empty out my ash tray on your lap. Next time you start a silly little blog about someone you don’t know, ATLEAST be open minded.
[Editor's Note: This posting has been edited for profanity.]
Stephanie: Profanity of this type is not acceptable on TeresaCentric — a blog that is about a great deal more than your self-centered decision to run away from home. You have been banned from further commenting.
Perhaps when you’re a little older and more mature, you’ll realize that the bloggers who posted your photo were trying to do the right thing.
Well, I think that if you’ve intervened in someone’s life you should at least give them the chance to respond fully and completely. So, I hope you’ll reconsider the ban and let Stephanie continue to post if she’s interested in doing so.
Also, I liked hideflife’s post. As a parent, I’d be worried sick if my kid ran away and would be grateful for the efforts of bloggers and anyone else to help find him. But there is something faintly ridiculous in the moralistic tone the search has taken. Life’s complex and often presents itself with potentially tragic and comic juxtapositions. While hideflife might not be very empathetic, the post was certainly clever and insighful.
Andy: I respect your opinion, but Stephanie has no right to come here and be abusive to me because I tried to do the right thing in getting the word out about her situation.
Also, I wasn’t moralizing about her choice of sport or use of tobacco. I don’t smoke and I don’t skateboard — mostly because I’m not coordinated enough to skateboard — but I have plenty of friends who do both. I don’t have anything against skateboarders as long as they’re careful not to mow people down on public sidewalks. I don’t have anything against people who smoke as long as they avoid blowing it in my face.
What I do have a problem with is Stephanie threatening to upend an ash tray in my lap simply for reposting information that was originally put up on the Web by a friend of her sister’s — and defending that decision by stating the obvious: teenage girls (and boys, for that matter) belong at home with their parents. I also have a problem with her assumption that I started my blog for the sole purpose of tormenting her — an assumption that is, by the way, pretty typical of teenage girls who think that the world revolves around them.
But if Stephanie wants to come back here and write about her feelings in an articulate, respectful way, I’ll do more than let her comment. She can write a guest post.
People are extremely naive to assume that if a minor goes missing it won’t cause a reaction regardless of the circumstances. Human nature is always to assume the worst when the unexpected comes around; the efforts and speculations made by those TRYING TO HELP were completely founded, and the reactions of hildeflife, Stephanie herself, and Andy Mok are absurd.
Hileflife/Stephanie/Andy Mok: Don’t ever fault someone for trying to help out - Teresa in this case. Stephanie chose to runaway and I hope it’s working out, but based on the comments here no one knew she was leaving or where she went. If she didn’t want people to worry or make a big deal of her absence then she should have let people know that she was leaving willfully and not taken.
This post went up in December 2006, and half a year later people still didn’t know where she was. Stephanie didn’t care enough to tell others what she was doing with her life, why should she care about what people she left behind say?
Grow up Stephanie, I’m assuming that’s what you ran away to do anyway.
“teenage girls (and boys, for that matter) belong at home with their parents.”
f*** that.
whatever f***ing life you lived, teresa, it was obviously
not as f***ing hard as a lot of teenage girls and boys.
look at the hard side for once and leave stephanie alone.
if she ran away then she obviously wanted to so back the f*** off.
it was her choice.
jesus christ.
Andi: You don’t know me, so don’t purport to know how easy or hard my teenage life was. Not everyone who has a difficult childhood chooses to run away.
Yes, it was Stephanie’s choice to run away and worry her family half to death. It was my choice to republish information about a missing teenage girl from elsewhere on the Web in an effort to help her family find her. It was also my right to do so.
So back the “eff” off.
Jesus Christ.
“Teresa”: Why don’t you give me a nice life story. You don’t know me either so don’t try to tell me how not everyone who has a difficult childhood chooses to run away.
Of course, looking at how stupid you are from this entire thing, you probably weren’t one of those people.
Andi: I don’t think this is really the appropriate forum to give you a blow by blow of my childhood. Suffice it to say that parents divorcing and ten years of brutal bullying is not something I’d wish on anyone.
As for me being stupid, I suppose it’s your right to think so. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt by assuming you’re an intelligent person and say that intelligent people can disagree.
But I still think that — unless there is demonstrable abuse on the part of the parents — teenagers belong at home. Teenagers, after all, do not have the emotional maturity or cognitive capacity to make adult decisions. This has been supported by scientific research.
At it’s core, the argument we’re having here is the same one that teenagers and adults have been having ever since modern medicine and nutrition increased the human lifespan such that adolescence became a phase of life distinct from adulthood. Adults say they know best and teenagers call B.S. As someone who was a teenager a scant 6 years ago, I recall keenly what that felt like.
But now, seeing it from the other side, I realize something: the adults were right.
and what about the boy?
are there charges pending?
will he be labelled a sex offender?
kidnapping charges?
mann act violations?
are there any other life-destroying over-reactions to slam down on the smoking, baggy pants wearing skateboarder?
wherever you are, Stephanie, if you two are together, if it were me, I would stay there until I know all charges against your boyfriend are going to be dropped.
State and federal. and be very careful in all your electronic communications. it doesn’t matter that you might be 18 now. they will still try to nail this guy for what happened in the past.
good luck.
just so ya guys know, i WISH there were charges pending but I don’t think Stephanie wants to do anything about it.
we’re great friends again
and she’s changed a LOT for the better since she left. she’s living in a great home with great people and i’m pretty sure shes going to find a guy that’s way better than the tool that she ran off with.