Fundraising Campaign Launched For Missing Birmingham Teacher

BIRMINGHAM, AL — As the search for missing Birmingham teacher Kelsey Starling enters its third week, authorities have declared that they can no longer conduct daily searches for the Troy, Alabama, native. Starling, a teacher at Birmingham's Tuggle Elementary School, disappeared July 4 after a boat in which she was a passenger collided with another boat at approximately 10 p.m.

Starling was a passenger in a 2012 Mastercraft wakeboard boat driven by 23-year-old William Jackson Fite of Decatur. Fite was booked into the Winston County Jail early Friday on a charge of boating under the influence.

As of July 19, however, authorities will no longer conduct daily searches for Starling, so a fundraiser has been set up to pay for search teams to continue the search for Starling.

"There is a group coming Monday from Dothan out of the goodness of their hearts, with the team being led by a former classmate of Kelsey’s," said Claire Haley, the organizer of the GoFundMe campaign set up for Starling.

The campaign has raised $19,000 thus far, with the money going toward recovery efforts. "The money raised will be given to The Smith Lake Task Force to pay for the expenses of search and recovery teams to continue to devote their time and efforts until our sweet and precious friend is located" the capiagn page says. "This is for the 21 plus rescue and recovery teams expenses in the tri-County area in this effort."

The GoFundMe page for Kelsey Starling can be found here.

Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.