Missing? No, she’s just on reality TV
Going on The Bachelor requires disappearing from your regular life. Contestants leave behind their jobs, pets, family, friends and social media accounts for days or weeks or months to compete for true love.
But one contestant was reported as missing to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, when in fact she was competing on the reality television show.
On Friday, a story in the North Coast Journal newspaper about 35 people currently missing in Humboldt County, California included Rebekah Martinez. The paper asked readers if they recognised any of the missing people, and Martinez was quickly recognised as a contestant on The Bachelor.
According to the Journal, Martinez’s mother reported her missing on November 18 after not hearing from her since November 12, a time frame that aligns with The Bachelor’s typical taping schedule.
After a reader pointed out that Martinez was on the show, a public information officer in Humboldt County – where Martinez at some point worked on a marijuana farm, the Journal reported – spoke with her and said she had been removed from the missing and unidentified persons unit. But as of yesterday, she still appeared on California’s state website as a missing person.
Yesterday, she addressed the mixup on Twitter in the most daughter voice possible: ‘‘MOM. how many times do I have to tell you I don’t get cell service on The Bachelor??’’
Contestants have a lot to do before uprooting their lives for what could be months. There’s a packing list that includes everything from ballgowns to ‘‘clothes for all types of weather’’.
There’s also likely a long todo list, which might include telling your mother you’ll be incommunicado for a while.