ROCKCASTLE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — 13-year-old Wynter Wagoner disappeared from her foster home bedroom on Oct. 14, and her family is doing everything they can to bring her home.
"We're not gonna stop. Like we're just not. No matter how long it takes. I mean we'll go anywhere. We'll do whatever," said Dovie Kirkland, a family friend helping with the search.
Wynter has been missing for three weeks as of Tuesday, leaving her family with more questions than answers about what happened to her and where she might be.
"She's been gone for three weeks today. That's too long for a 13-year-old. You usually have a trail to follow with a child, and she's a child," said Haley Whitehead, Wynter's aunt.
Whitehead believes if Wynter is still out there, she would have to be depending on someone else for help. However, the teenager's social media accounts have remained inactive, and she hasn't contacted any family members since her disappearance.
"I do feel like if she could've reached out, she would have messaged my daughter. They're pretty close. They kept in contact pretty steady. And my daughter has been looking for anything, any kind of activity. Nothing," Whitehead said.
Search crews have spent weeks combing the steep hills and rough terrain along Wolf Creek Road. The challenging landscape reinforces Whitehead's belief that Wynter didn't simply run away on her own.
The emotional toll on the family has been overwhelming.
"We go to bed thinking about it. We wake up thinking about it. We can't concentrate on anything else. And honestly, we're not going to until we find her," Whitehead said.
Taking matters into their own hands, Whitehead and Kirkland created a Facebook page called "Where is Wynter B. Wagoner" to spread awareness across the nation.
"We have to be her voice. That's the goal is just to find out, you know, where she's at, to know that she's safe, to get her brought home. I mean, it takes the community," Kirkland said.
Whitehead has also hired private investigator Sam Cornett to work alongside her in searching for any clues about Wynter's whereabouts. Cornett can be contacted at 606-550-8888.
If Wynter is out there somewhere, her aunt has a simple message for her.
"We're just... we're lost. I don't wish this on anybody, not knowing if somebody you love is okay. If they're smiling, if they're happy, if they're sad, you know, you don't where they're at. Just call us Wynter," Whitehead said.
The family is offering a $5,000 reward for information that helps them find Wynter.
