Search intensifies for South Alabama teen who vanished taking out the trash
HIGHLAND HOME, AL (WSFA) -
Vickie and Chris Metcalf can't think about Christmas presents or holiday celebrations.
Their world has been turned upside down since their daughter went missing. Alissia Freeman, 17, took the trash out Sunday, December 13, 2015 around 4:30 p.m. at their home on Dailey Road in Highland Home's Magnolia Shores community and she hasn't been seen or heard from since. Her parents reported her missing later that night.
“She said she was going to take out the garbage from her room because she had cleaned her room up Sunday. I was in there cooking when she came through the kitchen and she never did come back inside. We came out looking for her. We were calling her name and she never answered. We looked down the roads and in the woods,” her mother said. “We've just been looking for her. We don't know where she went. We don't know what happened.”
A neighbor reported spotting Alissia walking down the road they live on by herself. She did not have anything with her but her phone.
“She's never done anything like this. We're worried that she's hurt or that she's with someone who might hurt her,” Vickie Metcalf added. “She had a phone and we've tried to call it and we've left messages but we haven't heard anything. We don't even know if she's getting the messages.”
Investigators with the Crenshaw County Sheriff's Office are working around the clock on the case, and were back out at the house Thursday afternoon. The circumstances surrounding the homeschooled teen's disappearance remain unclear. Officials do not yet know if foul play could be involved. “There are a lot of different angles we're going at right now,” said Mike Johnson, chief investigator with the Crenshaw County Sheriff's Office. “We're trying to do everything we can do. Sheriff Powell has put everything into it. We've got every available person working different leads. Other counties are assisting us as well. He's focused on getting this girl home, getting her home safe.”
As authorities continue their investigation and search for Alissia, her family is doing everything they can to get the word out, posting flyers at local businesses and in different towns and sharing information in different states through social media.
“We've posted flyers in Montgomery, Greenville, Highland Home, Luverne, Troy. It's even on Facebook in South Carolina and Georgia,” said Linda Thornton, Alissia’s grandmother. “We've got family and friends just trying to pray and get her home.”
Alissia Freeman is 4’11” and 120 lbs. with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a crimson colored Alabama shirt, blue jeans and a pair of black and white Converse tennis shoes.
“We want to know that she's safe because that's all that we keep wondering because we don't know. Is she safe? Who is she with? We just need to hear from her,” Vickie Metcalf said. “We want her to come home. That's all we can think about.”
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Crenshaw County Sheriff's Office at 334-335-6568.
“Her personality matches her looks. She is just beautiful inside and out. She has just the sweetest personality you could ask for. We are very concerned for her wellbeing. Whoever has any information, please let us know. Our biggest concern is that she is ok. We have no clue what's going on. We just want her home safe,” her grandmother added.
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