Family, Officials Step Up The Search For Missing Pomona Girl, 13
POMONA (CBSLA.com) — The search for a missing 13-year-old girl in Pomona has intensified.
Pomona police have asked for assistance from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
KCAL9's Crystal Cruz reports Katherine Vance's family is grateful for all the help it can get.
Vance, known as Kitty to friends and family, has been missing for six days.
Her mom, Sylvia Escobar, suspects her daughter's friends might me keeping her away from home.
"Horrible. It's been horrible. I spend every single minute with my kids. They're my life," said Escobar.
Kitty's family, wearing pink, rallied in downtown Pomona Thursday night passing out missing person fliers to people driving by.
"We're not mad at her. [We want her to know] that we miss her and that we want her to come home," said Escobar.
Police say this is the second time Kitty has gone missing this month.
The first time she was found with her 17-year-old boyfriend. Kitty is prohibited from seeing him because he will be 18 in October.
"She left with the clothes on her back and maybe $20. Someone that is planning on running away is going to take a little bit more that just that," her mom says.
Police suspect the teen ran away this time and is likely staying in Pomona with friends. Her aunt doesn't believe that.
"This is Katherine's favorite stuffed animal. She calls it owl," said Julia Escobar.
"She didn't run away. If she would have ran away, she would've taken it with her. She would've never left him behind," her aunt said.
Cruz reported that anyone caught keeping the girl from her family could face several criminal charges, including kidnapping.
