EAST BERNSTADT, Ky. (LEX18) — Nearly two months after 13-year-old Wynter Wagoner disappeared from the small community of Orlando in Rockcastle County, her family and community gathered for a second vigil in East Bernstadt, refusing to let her case go cold.
Wynter was last seen on October 14. Since then, her digital footprint has gone silent, and new leads have turned up cold.
"You have to have hope. You have to have hope. If you don't have hope, you don't have anything," said Haley Whitehead, Wynter's aunt.
Whitehead has been holding onto that hope since her teenage niece disappeared 60 days ago.
The Saturday afternoon vigil aimed to keep Wynter's case in the public eye and send a message to the missing teen.
"To keep it fresh and in the public eye. And if Wynter happens to see this, then she knows we love her very much, and we want her home, and we're not gonna stop looking for her," Whitehead said.
Jamie Malicote, Wynter's uncle, expressed his frustration with her disappearance.
"It's been, I've been worried to death man. I've been out getting out flyers anywhere," Malicote said.
Recently, rumors have circulated on social media suggesting Wynter may have headed to Florida, but her family doesn't believe that's accurate.
"She knows nobody in Florida as far as any of us know. So if she was relying on the promise of going to Florida, it's concerning because that means somebody would have to take her there. And somebody would have had to made that promise," Whitehead said.
Both Whitehead and Wynter's father, Dusty Wagoner, have direct messages for the missing teen.
"Wynter, it is time to reach out to us. If you ca,n please call us, message us. Just anything. Just let us know, please, that you're okay. Because we're not- like I said before, we're not gonna stop," Whitehead said.
Wagoner made an emotional plea to his daughter.
"I love you, and no matter what you're going through, you know we'll work through it. But you got to come home because it's hurting so many more people than you realize. It's hurting, and I know you're hurting, but we love you, and we're working on getting things better. And you mean the world to me, and I just want you home," Wagoner said.
The family continues to ask anyone with information about Wynter's whereabouts to contact authorities.
