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About We Help The Missing

We Help the Missing, Inc. is a domestic 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. We are comprised of a team of private investigators and citizens who selflessly dedicate themselves to investigating and locating missing persons, recover human trafficking victims, and advocate for missing indigenous persons.  It makes no difference the age of the loved one or how long they have been missing. We strive to offer support to the families who are going through this difficult time.

 

Who We Are

Our team is comprised of compassionate, dedicated persons, with many years of experience in the missing persons arena.  We have a full range of qualifications.

 
Our mission is to help locate missing persons and to support, guide, give comfort and hope to the families through this most difficult time and beyond.

We fully understand the pain these families go through when a loved one is missing and are very aware of the imminent dangers that a missing person may encounter.  Time is of the essence.  


It is our belief that there is nothing worse than living in the "void of the unknown" and not knowing where to turn.  

We commit ourselves to providing every resource in our reach to help.    

 

Our Team

CEO -Kelsey Gardner

Kelsey has a family to include four children and resides in Utah. Her education consists of: M.A., Social Work, Clinical, Western New Mexico University; B.S., Elementary Education; and a Psychology Minor, Brigham Young University.  

              

Kelsey’s past experience is varied and interesting.  She was a 4th grade teacher at Ridgecrest Elementary School in Amarillo, Texas.  She worked as a Psychology Office Specialist at Preferred Family Clinic in Provo, Utah from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2009-2010.  In 2009 and 2010 she also worked as a Teaching Assistant, Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Kelsey also worked as an Occupational Therapist Assistant at the Utah Mental Hospital in Provo, Utah.

Volunteer Work, Memberships, and Scholarships include: a Certificate in “Signs of Sex Trafficking” from Operation Underground Railroad; in the process of being Shared Hope Ambassador;  a member of National Alliance on Mental Illness, Utah; Chair of the Parent Volunteer Group for Delta North Elementary School; Official volunteer for Operation Underground Railroad; Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baltic Mission from 2007-2008; attended “Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)” regarding suicide prevention; attended Utah’s first “Utah Early Childhood Mental Health Summit” in November 2020; Member of the Relief Society, formerly in leadership presidency in her church. 

Her experience and knowledge will allow her to excel with We Help The Missing!
 

Marki Davis - private inestigator - President/Founder

Marki has a passion for helping Missing and Unidentified Persons as well as helping to recover victims of Human Trafficking.   Supporting the loved ones thought this difficult time is imperative to her.  
 

She is a licensed Private Investigative Agent in Utah as A – Team Investigative Services since 2005. She was also licensed in Colorado and Nevada and investigated all types of cases in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and Colorado.    

 

In 2003 she began working missing person cases.  This was the beginning of understanding what the families of the missing go through and her wanting to help in any way she could. After doing missing persons on her own she became a co-founder and co-chairman of the board of LostnMissing then became Vice President of an organization that only helped with missing juveniles.  Marki felt that she needed to reach all missing and unidentified persons no matter the age or how long they had been missing. 
 

In 2010 Marki was nominated and accepted to attend the US Department of Justice’s NamUs academy which resulted in her becoming Victim’s Advocate for Utah.   She has also taken courses and is certified on missing persons protocol, knowing the signs of human trafficking, crisis management, and listening for understanding. She got her degree in Criminal Justice. 

 

In 2014 she co-founded and became the CEO of We Help The Missing and now serves as its president.  

Amanda WALDRON - private investigator - Vice president

Amanda has volunteered with We Help The Missing as a Private Investigator since 2014 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, a Paralegal Certification, and is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Amanda is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the abuse and neglected children of Natrona County, and has a passion for working with at-risk and vulnerable teens. She is also an active member of Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity. Additional training and education: Operation Underground Railroad trained (which works with Law Enforcement to identify and free survivors of human trafficking) Volunteers collaboratively with Wyoming DCI on state wide missing cases and assisting in creating a unified Missing persons database in Wyoming. Additional Training: -Crisis Intervention and de-escalation training -Cognitive thinking training -alcohol and drug awareness training -Trauma focused training -Emotional poverty in children training.

 

Board Members
 

RANDALL "RANDY" RABENOLD - PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR - CHAIRPERSON

“Randy” started his career with the U.S. Secret Service (Uniformed Division, Washington D.C.). He later obtained his PI license and worked for a firm in Charlotte, NC. There he assisted U.S. Customs as an undercover operative in South Korea, New York, Nevada, and Texas, which resulted in the dismantling of an international smuggling ring. In 2003 he started his own PI company where he and his co-workers conducted various disciplines of investigation. Randy always had an interest in “Cold Case” and had been fascinated by a 45-year cold case that occurred near his hometown. He started his own “armchair” investigation and worked the case in his spare time. Planning his retirement for January 2021, he always wanted to continue investigating and help find missing persons or help the wrongly convicted. He joined our team in April 2021.
Randy is married and has a 27-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter. He and his wife have two dogs, two cats and two goats! In his spare time, he enjoys deer hunting, habitat management and working in the outdoors. 

 

Heather de cecco - graphics director

Heather received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology, Law, & Society from University of California Irvine, and as a collegiate, she interned for The Police Foundation, a non-profit with the mission to advance policing located in Washington, D.C.. She has a Juris Doctor from Western State University College of Law, and a Master of Laws degree from Chapman University School of Law. Heather is married and a full-time working mom to 2 young children. As her day job, she’s Contracts Counsel, negotiating complex transactions for Experian. When she’s not working or volunteering with WHTM, she’s also a soccer coach, PTA President, and finance advisor. She enjoys being outdoors going on a hike in the mountains or walks on the beach. While Heather has never personally experienced missing a loved one, her interest began several decades ago by following high profile missing persons cases in the media. Once she went down the rabbit hole of internet sleuthing, she learned that she could be more productive with her time with actually making a direct impact in helping finding missing persons.  
 

David “Dave” Wolfskill- PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR (RETIRED) 

Dave is a rancher in Wyoming. He is married with grown children. He has previously worked for Laramie County and Crook County Sheriff’s Departments.  He worked as a Patrol Supervisor and Narcotics team Leader.  Dave is a retired Private Investigator, Criminal Defense Investigator, and We Help The Missing President.  Dave co-founded We Help The Missing and volunteered on missing person cases since 2014.   He has always been a valuable member of the organization.

 

Jacob Koppenhaver - NATIONAL INVESTIGATION DIRECTOR

Jacob grew up in the Seattle area as a homeless teenager. After overcoming that situation, he completed college and entered law enforcement, where he was an officer in Washington and Kansas. While in law enforcement he received specialized training on CSI, narcotics, digital forensics, and was a training officer for several years.
 

Currently, he works as a Senior Investigator for the state’s Public Defender system, where he continues to use his investigative skills and testify in high level felony cases.
 

In his spare time, Jacob runs a small business and volunteers for We Help The Missing, helping to coordinate our investigative efforts nationwide. At home, he has a family of four cats, Loki, Baldr, Freyja, and Freyr, and his hobbies include playing video games, keeping up on his marksmanship, flying drones, and exploring.

technology.

TARA FRANKLIN - FAMILY SUPPORT LIAISON
 

Tara recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and minors in Psychology and English from The University of New Haven. She has been volunteering with We Help The Missing since late 2020. She volunteers in areas that support the loved ones of missing individuals such as Family Advocate and Family Liaison. Her passion for helping the missing began at a young age when she was exposed to high profile missing persons cases. Tara currently works in retail and as a pet sitter while pursuing a career in criminal justice. In her free time, she enjoys doing puzzles and watching soccer.

 

jason jensen - pRIVATE iNVESTIGATOR
 

Jason, is a Navy Veteran and a licensed private investigative agent and certified paralegal from Utah, has 29 years investigative experience.  He has a master's degree in Criminal Justice.  He is a co-founder of the Utah Cold Case Coalition (UCCC); a member of the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases (AISOCC); a member of the International Association for Identification (AIA); a member of the International Association for Bloodstain Pattern Analysts (IABPA); a member of the Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction (ACSR); an associate member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE); he was a member of the Homicide Investigators Association from 2018 to 2021; a member of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (UACDL); a member of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association (WTLA); a board member of the Private Investigators Association (PIAU); the Chair Person on the board of Utah Cold Case Coalition (UCCC); and the interim Chair Person for the Intermountain  and I am the interim chair for Intermountain Forensics. 

Jason has been featured in and written many articles. He has appeared in many media segments and appears regularly on Court TV.  

Jason is married with a family and resides near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Currently he is a valued volunteer Private Investigator with We Help The Missing since 2015. 

For more information you can visit his websites for Jensen Private Investigations at https://jensenprivateinvestigations.com/ and Jensen Cold Cases https://jensen-coldcases.com/.  You can also find him on many Social Media platforms and by internet searches.

sHAYNA HOYT - PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
 

Shayna is a discerning and empathetic person with the desire to better the human condition of those she meets.  She is married with a family.

Professionally, she is an entrepreneur whose business, Get Me Out Bail Bonds,  assists people facing severe legal,  financial, addiction, and domestic family challenges. She has worked with law enforcement and navigates the court system easily. She sees and brings out the best in most people. Shayna is also admired for her tenacity and work ethic. Nothing is too challenging for her. Having a variety of certifications and licenses as Private Investigator, Bond Agent, and Bail Recovery Agent suit her perfectly for service to the We Help The Missing Team!

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