LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Lexington teen who vanished 23 years ago is still missing.
Fourteen-year-old Lydia Perkins vanished from her Cardinal Valley neighborhood on October 26, 1997. She was last seen walking home from her boyfriend's on Londonderry Drive between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Her family has waited in agony for more than two decades, wondering where she went.
"Every single day," Lydia's mother, Sherry Thompson, said. "There's not a day of my life that goes by that I don't think of my daughter."
Her brother, Justin Perkins, was 12 years old when his sister went missing.
"It hurts," he said. "[It's] something that burns inside of you. It hurts."
Lydia was known to leave her home without permission, but she rarely left her neighborhood. For two years her family said police considered her a runaway.
"She loved her home," Thompson said. "She wouldn't have left her home. I have no doubt in my mind that someone took her and did something to her."
Now living in Garrard County, Lydia's family is desperate for answers.
"I want an end to all of this and try to get some closure," Justin said.
They're asking anyone who knows something to come forward so that after two decades of not knowing, they can finally be at peace.
"Wherever her body is, she's waiting for me," Thompson said. "She's been waiting for me to find her and bring her home."
Anyone with information can call the Lexington Police Department at (859) 258-3600 and ask for the cold case detective.
