Missing Girl Sought in Resort

OCEAN CITY- Ocean City Police this week continue to search for a teen reported missing earlier this month in Baltimore County who is believed to have traveled at some point to the resort for Senior Week.

According to Baltimore County Police, Kirsten L. Ratliff, 16, of Perry Hall, was reported missing by her father shortly before 8 p.m. on June 9. Ratliff had apparently had a dispute with her father, with whom she was living, and ran away. When she did not return, he father reported her missing to Baltimore County Police and an investigation was undertaken, according to BCPD public information officer Lt. Robert McCullough.

Ratliff is a white female about 5’4” tall and around 105 pounds with long brown hair at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen in the Perry Hall area of Baltimore County around 2 p.m. on June 9. Ratliff was wearing blue Capri-style pants and a white tank top, and was carrying a pink bag, at the time of her disappearance.

McCullough said this week an initial report placed Ratliff at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Bel Air, but that rumor proved to be unfounded. Baltimore County Police also searched to no avail in and around the Dundalk area where Ratliff’s mother lives and works. After the first few days of the investigation, the search focused on Ocean City, after Baltimore County Police received information the teen had traveled to the resort.

“Her father had received information she had gone to Ocean City,” said McCullough. “Apparently, she had been seen by friends at a party in Ocean City sometime over the weekend from June 10 to June 12, although that hasn’t been officially confirmed.”

Another witness has provided information lending credence to the Ocean City connection for the missing teen. The witness told The Dispatch she was walking on the Boardwalk on Sunday, June 12, when she was approached by a young man holding a picture of his girlfriend, Ratliff, who told the witness he was desperately looking for Ratliff. The boyfriend told the witness Ratliff had been missing since she was last seen at a party on 119th Street on the Thursday before. The missing girl’s boyfriend also told the witness Ratliff’s family was also looking for her in Ocean City.

Meanwhile, McCullough said this week Ratliff is still missing and the investigation continues. He said the search continues on several fronts, while the focus has centered on the Baltimore County area where she was first reported missing.

“The investigation is ongoing and nothing has been ruled out, but our investigators have reason to believe she may be back in our area,” he said.

The Ocean City Police Department continues to search for Ratliff, according to spokesperson Jessica Waters.

“We were made aware of this shortly after she was reported missing in Baltimore County,” she said. “As far as I know, she has not been located. We are actively looking for her and her picture and information is distributed each day at roll call.”