Volunteers trekked through a patch of thick pine trees and along railroad tracks in Northwest Baltimore on Saturday as a light snow fell, searching for any clues in the disappearance of missing teenager Phylicia Simone Barnes.
On Saturday morning — 11 days after she went missing — the family and friends of 16-year-old Barnes, along with concerned strangers, searched the grounds surrounding the apartment complex where the honor roll student from North Carolina was last seen. Police say they suspect foul play and the teen was likely abducted, but family members vowed Saturday to find her.
Russell Barnes, her father, organized the search that drew about 30 volunteers, including the activist group Guardian Angels in their signature red berets and jackets. Barnes, who lives in Atlanta, came to Baltimore soon after hearing of his daughter's disappearance. Between calls on his cell phone from various church and community leaders offering help, he said he was resolute in his hope that his daughter, who lives with her mother in Monroe, N.C., and was visiting Baltimore for the holidays at the time of her disappearance, would return home alive.
"We don't believe she's gone," her father said, adding that a reward for information about the missing girl has been increased to $4,000. "I'll never believe she's gone. She's here. I'm never going to stop looking."
The teenager was last seen at her older sister's apartment in the 6500 block of Eberle Drive, near the Reisterstown Road Metro station and within sight of a large shopping center. Police believe she left the apartment about 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28 in search of food. She hasn't been heard from since, her cell phone is off, she hasn't used her debit card and she hasn't updated her Facebook page.
Ben Thomas, whose young daughter attends the same charter school as Barnes, drove some seven hours from his home in North Carolina last Thursday night to help search for the missing teen. He's been staying a friend's house, and he joined Saturday's search. At Phylicia Barnes' school, where his daughter is a seventh-grader, Thomas said everyone has been wearing purple — Barnes' favorite color — to express hope that she'll be found safe. The school's wrestling team wore purple socks at a recent match, he said.
"I just couldn't look in her eyes and say everything was being done if I didn't do something," Thomas said of his daughter. "If she were gone, I'd want everyone outside of their comfort zone."
Jessica Paylor, a student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said she took the subway from her Baltimore home to come search for Phylicia.
"She's a young girl like me," said Paylor, 20, holding an umbrella to shield herself from the falling snow. "If this happened to me, I'd want people to come and search. I've been praying for her daily."
In a brief interview, Phylicia Barnes' elder half-sister, Deena Barnes, 27, said her sister was sleeping when she left her apartment at 8:45 a.m Dec. 28. She said they spoke on the phone and texted several times that morning and through the afternoon, mostly about setting up a hair appointment for the teen. She said allegations made by Phylicia Barnes' mother, Janice Sallis, that large groups of men often congregated in her apartment are "untrue."
Sallis, appearing Saturday morning on the national news program "The Today Show," said she allowed her daughter to visit Baltimore to connect with distant family members and had let her stay with Deena Barnes after being assured her daughter would be safe and looked after. Sallis said she learned after her daughter went missing that the apartment was often frequented by men. Sallis said she "felt totally deceived" and would not have allowed her daughter to visit Baltimore.
Baltimore police have invested unprecedented resources into the search, putting about 25 homicide detectives, as well as missing-persons investigators and patrol officers, on the case. Police have been searching Leakin Park and handing out hundreds of fliers, and have set up a 24-hour hot line for tips. The FBI has assisted with helicopter searches and has provided technical and computer expertise.
Police say the teen, who is a track star and an honors student who earned straight A's, was likely abducted and may have been taken far from Baltimore.
Authorities also say it's highly unlikely that the teen ran away because she has no history of crime or drug use, doesn't suffer from emotional problems and has no family troubles. Phylicia was on track to graduate early from high school and wanted to move to Baltimore and attend Towson University.
Anthony Guglielmi, a city police spokesman, said Saturday that police haven't received any promising leads, but officers are continuing to "scour the entire city" for any sign of the teen.
"We're now approaching 11 days without a confirmed sighting, no cell phone signal, not trying to access ATMs … it's incredibly concerning. You can't help but to start to fear for the worst. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking anytime soon."
A prayer service Phylicia Barnes is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at Brown's Memorial Baptist Church, 3215 W. Belvedere Ave.