Montana Teen Gets Left Behind At A Rest Stop, Later Dies Of Suspected Hypothermia

A 16-year-old Montana girl named Selena Faye Not Afraid died in a particularly tragic way while traveling home from a New Year’s Eve party with her friends on January 1. When the van she was traveling in broke down at around 2:00 p.m. that day, the driver stopped at a rest stop and Faye Left got out of the vehicle when it was being repaired. It is believed that the van accidentally left her behind and that she later died of suspected hypothermia, according to People.

Police believe that when the van broke down, the group stopped at a rural rest stop off the I-90 midway between Billings and Hardin. Faye was a resident of Hardin and had been at a party in Billings which is about 50 miles away. The driver of the vehicle managed to get the van up and running again but had to continuously pump the gas pedal to keep it moving, so the group left again rather abruptly. It wasn’t until they were already on the road again that the driver became aware that they’d left two passengers behind at the rest stop. This included Faye and one other girl.

Another driver was sent back to the rest stop to retrieve the two girls, but when the driver arrived, they could only find one of the two passengers. Faye was nowhere in sight and had left the area on foot. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it very far. Her body was later discovered about half a mile away from where she and her friends had stopped. While hypothermia is the most likely cause of her death, police cannot confirm this until after an autopsy is performed. It is not believed that foul play was involved in the teenager’s tragic passing. On the day of her death, the weather conditions were very cold and Faye was reportedly not dressed for the elements.

Faye’s uncle, Crow Tribal Chairman A.J. Not Afraid, released the following statement regarding his niece’s passing.

“Please keep Selena’s family and friends in prayer. Please empower each other to share and help ourselves heal. Please let us all learn from such a senseless and tragic loss. No one knows when tragedy will strike. All we can do is keep hope, that those who are able to help, will. If that is what we must rely on, than we must learn to further take care of each other, as well as ourselves.”

This is not the only story of a tragedy that occurred recently due to the elements. In 2019, a 7-year-old boy named Ethan Hauschultz passed away from hypothermia after being forced to remain outside in cold temperatures for too long, as The Inquisitr previously reported.