Two girls reported missing in Alpine; father worried for their safety after wife leaves town with them

ALPINE, Wyoming — Jace Walsh hasn’t seen his two daughters and wife since Feb. 23.

“We just feel so hopeless. I haven’t seen them (or) spoken to them,” said Walsh.

Walsh and his family live in Alpine, Wyoming. He told EastIdahoNews.com that his wife Stephanie, 41, took their daughters Lilyana, 12, and Tamzen, 8, on Feb. 23. He was at work when he said Stephanie was supposed to be taking the girls to a doctor’s appointment but instead left town.

“None of our friends or family have seen them or spoken to them. That includes both of Stephanie’s sisters, her grandparents, my parents — who she is very close to — her two best friends. Nobody has heard from them,” he said.

In an email to EastIdahoNews.com, Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson said the two girls have been reported missing, and his office is actively trying to locate them. Johnson said the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children had distributed some posters. They have additionally been entered into a national database where other law enforcement agencies have been made aware.

He said any leads that are coming in are being followed up on. Johnson wrote that Stephanie had been entered into the system to check on her welfare.

Deputy David Hammond with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said the case on the girls originally started as a welfare check. He said in the middle of February, Stephanie and the girls were located in Nevada.

“We put out an attempt to locate to all the other agencies. They were contacted by an agency in Nevada and checked on their welfare. They were fine. The girls were fine. There was nothing amiss. Law enforcement in Nevada let them go,” Hammond said.

However, as time went on, they still had not returned home.

“Obviously, the mom has not wanted to contact anybody, so that’s when we started with entering them into the system as missing girls,” Hammond said. “There are agencies all over the country that have been notified to keep an eye out for them; if located, contact us. It’s even gone as far as the Forest Service and BLM, so there’s a lot of agencies that are trying to locate them and get a hold of them.”

Walsh said he is worried because Stephanie has been known to suffer from mental illness. He said Stephanie’s phone, along with his daughter’s phone, was left behind.

Walsh has been able to track credit card usage. Stephanie has been to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Antonio. There have been charges for food and gas but not for hotels, he said.

“When she got into Las Vegas on Feb. 25, she emptied our bank account and bought a new car — a $37,000 car — which is more than the cost of every other vehicle we’ve ever bought combined,” he said.

But charges stopped in their account on March 15, and he’s unsure how they are getting by.

Lilyana is described as 5’2″ with blue eyes and is 108 pounds. Tamzen is described as 4’2″ with blue eyes and is 60 pounds. They are believed to be traveling in a 2019 gray Honda Odyssey, according to a poster provided to EastIdahoNews.com. Hammond said it’s unknown what the plate number is. Stephanie Walsh is described as 5’4″ with red hair and green eyes.

Walsh said on March 6, the 3rd Judicial District Court in Wyoming granted an emergency custody order to him.

Hammond said it had not been served since Stephanie had not been located.

“At this point, she could be anywhere in the country,” Walsh said.

Walsh hopes that they safely return.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at (307) 885-5231.

“We are always concerned when we can’t locate people. We are definitely concerned for their welfare and their well-being. In any situation like this, we are definitely worried about the children,” Hammond said.