By ALLIE SIMON
According to CNN, a woman previously classified as “missing” has now been found on ABC’s reality dating television show, “The Bachelor.”
CNN’s classification as “missing” deviates from the true nature of Rebekah Martinez’s status of personhood.
Rebekah Martinez, 22, was marked “missing” by her mother on Nov. 18. Martinez’s mother told local authorities in Humboldt County, Calif., that Martinez was leaving the area to pursue work on a marijuana farm. This type of missing persons report sounds more like a notification of her leaving the area rather than her being unequivocally missing.
The North Coast Journal released an article on Feb. 1 on Facebook titled “The Humboldt 35: Why does Humboldt County have the highest rate of missing persons reports in the state?” showing 35 pictures of people who have been listed as missing in the county to see if any of them could be identified. The same day, Facebook user Amy Bonner O’Brien identified Rebekah Martinez from the recently aired season 22 of “The Bachelor.”
During the time when Martinez was so-called “missing,” she was actually filming for the show, according to ABC spokeswoman Courtney Kugel. Every report of the scenario seems to overlook the fact that Martinez was not missing, but merely at an undisclosed location for filming. Regardless of the fact that Martinez did not tell her mother where she was actually going, she did tell her that she was going to a farm where she would be out of communication.
Season 22 ‘The Bachelor’ contestant Rebekah Martinez as both a TV personality and a missing person.
After confirmation by the Humboldt County sheriff’s department that Rebakah Martinez of Humboldt county was actually “Bekah M” from “The Bachelor,” Martinez took to Twitter to say “MOM. how many times do I have to tell you I don’t get cell service on The Bachelor??”
Martinez insinuated through the sarcastic tweet that she had told her mother before that she would be out of reach for several months.
News sources neglected to shame authorities for doing insufficient research, as Martinez tweeted on Jan. 16 that did not have her phone at the filming site, over 10 days before the North Coast Journal article was published with her face listed as a “missing person.”
With the California authorities aware of her name and face, it is astounding that they were unable to identify Rebekah Martinez as who she was before a viewer of “The Bachelor” did so on Facebook.