YATES CENTER — It’s been nearly a month since Lia Seely snuck out of her mother’s home.
Officers know Seely caught a ride to Parsons the night of March 1, riding with a vehicle of acquaintances “conspiring” to get her out of town.
She hasn’t been heard from again — at least not publicly.
Now, after nearly a month of appealing to the public for help, and law enforcement chasing leads as far away as California and Ohio, Seely’s family has upped the ante.
At a Friday news conference, Yates Center Assistant Police Chief Vinson Baker announced Seely’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the teen’s return.
“If someone has her, please let her go,” Elizabeth Neely, Lia’s mother said. “Take the money and just let her go.”
BAKER recounted the circumstances surrounding the teen’s disappearance.
At around 10 p.m. the night of March 1, Lia left her mom’s home with her mother’s knowledge or consent, and got into a car with three acquaintances — all adults. Baker said the occupants were “conspiring” to get her to Parsons.
Once they reached Parsons about an hour later, the driver dropped off her and one of the other occupants.
Officers know the pair walked about a block before heading in different directions, the occupant heading to his house; Seely going eastbound on Crawford Street.
That’s where her trail disappeared.
Two of the car’s occupants have subsequently been arrested and face charges related to conspiring to interfere with parental custody and contributing to the delinquency of a child. Their identities have not been released.
Both suspects have subsequently cooperated with law enforcement, Baker said.
Meanwhile, officers have appealed to the public for information, even releasing information about potential contacts with Seely. All of those potential contacts were subsequently identified and interviewed, Baker said, and are no longer considered persons of interest.
“I say that only because there have been other posts made here as recently as this week, that name dropped individuals I was earlier interested in coming in contact with,” Baker said. “Since then, those individuals have started being harassed and bullied, one of them being a juvenile in the Parsons school district.
“I would like for that to cease,” Baker continued. “So let’s make that abundantly clear that there is currently not a person of interest, and nor is the juvenile that was named early on.”
