MISSOULA — Three months have passed since Rebekah Barsotti went missing near the Clark Fork River in Mineral County.
Since then, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office said they’ve exhausted their leads and handed the case back over to Mineral County.
Officials have said that all signs of Barsotti’s disappearance point to a drowning, but Barsotti’s family feels there were gaps and delays in the investigation. Now, they’re calling on law enforcement to forge ahead in their search for Rebekah.
“There's really nobody working on it,” said Rebekah’s mom Angela Mastrovito. “I mean, I appreciate the law enforcement efforts from both counties, but Mineral County is a small county, and they lacked the manpower to effectively assign somebody to be on this case, and then as time has gone on, then anything is a possibility.”
After three months of little to no progress, Mastrovito is frustrated but not yet defeated.
She keeps her daughter’s name alive through events like the vigil held in Missoula Thursday morning. There, a group of supporters brought awareness to domestic violence through signage held for passersby to see. While abuse hasn’t been linked to Barsotti’s disappearance, it is a part of her story.
“The goal for being out here is to keep Rebekah’s name in the community, to keep her spirit and her name and her presence alive.”
Barsotti’s supporters haven’t wavered, but her mom feels as though law enforcement gave up a long time ago.
“It's frustrating because with the gaps and the time that has passed, it brings more questions.”
Questions like who made that initial call to 911 that Rebekah’s belongings were left near the river. Whoever it was, could they know more?
"There was a family traveling and they are the ones who called 911. They're from Oregon, supposedly. That's what we've been informed. “I'm hoping that if you took the time to call 911, you’re still following this, and if you would reach out to the family through Find Rebekah Barsotti page we would really appreciate it." - Angela Mastrovito
Just as Barsotti overcame abuse with resilience, her parents have the same fight within and say the organizing, the vigils and the searching won’t stop until they find their daughter.
“Just keep Rebekah alive. Keep her spirit alive,” Mastrovito concluded.
